Our Research Centres
At the heart of our strategy to beat cancer sooner is a network of translational centres delivering world-leading research that accelerates the transition of lab-based discovery science to the clinic for the benefit of people affected by cancer.
Our Centres drive local collaborations between universities, NHS hospitals, and other research organisations. Together, they operate as a network which plays a key role in delivering our strategic objectives, with different Centres contributing their expertise in different tumour sites and research themes.
We award Centre status to locations performing the highest quality cancer research, providing over £100million of infrastructure investment funding for technical staff, equipment, training and running costs.
Centres review outcomes
We've now completed our five-year Centre review for the funding period running from April 2022 – March 2027. We’ll be investing £100 million over five years into seven Cancer Research UK Centres.
Directory of Centres
| Location | Director | Specialist themes |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Richard Gilbertson | Early Detection, Integrated Cancer Medicine, Cancer Immunology, Advanced Cancer Imaging, Nursing and Allied Health Professionals, Fundamental Biology of Cancer, Breast, Brain, Haematological Malignancies, Pancreatic, Thoracic, Ovarian, Paediatric, Urological Malignancies. |
| City of London (Kings College London, University College London, Barts Cancer Institute, Francis Crick Institute) |
Tariq Enver | Novel Biological Therapies, Effective Therapy Combinations, Cancer Evolution, Early Detection and Prevention, Paediatric Cancer. |
| Convergence Science (ICR-Imperial) | Axel Behrens | Exploiting Cancer Vulnerabilities, Interventional Science, Data Science, Digital Pathology. |
| Manchester | Rob Bristow | Experimental Cancer Medicine, Biomarker Discovery and Translation, Radiotherapy, Early Detection, Integrative Pathology. |
| Newcastle | Ruth Plummer | Early Phase Clinical Trials, Clinical Pharmacology and Treatment Optimisation. |
| Oxford | Mark Middleton and Tim Elliot | Immuno-oncology, Big Data, Early detection, Clinical Trial Delivery. |
| Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow) |
Owen Sansom and Charlie Gourley | Tumour Microenvironment & Metabolism; Data, Brain, Liver, Pancreas, Colorectal Cancer. |
Contact us
Dr Brooke Lumicisi
Research Programme Manager – Lead for CRUK Centres
centres-institutes@cancer.org.uk
More research infrastructure
We fund a network of state-of-the-art facilities at more than 80 institutions across the UK. From basic science and drug discovery to experimental medicine and clinical trials, our infrastructure enables research throughout the pipeline.
Are you looking for new opportunities to exchange ideas and interact more closely with other research groups?
Our Open Lab Initiative has been launched to encourage CRUK Centre Network research groups, CRUK-funded laboratories, and other groups undertaking cancer-related research to hold joint group meetings online.
Our aim is to connect research groups with mutual or complementary interests to spark creative discussions, generate novel scientific ideas, and establish new research collaborations.