Download Teaching Fellow Position: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
FACULTY OF MEDICAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES
MANCHESTER PHARMACY SCHOOL
(with affiliation to the Institute of Cancer Sciences)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Title:
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Cancer Pharmacometrics
Academic Department:
Manchester Pharmacy School (with affiliation to the
Institute of Cancer Sciences)
Salary:
Will be within the following ranges:
Lecturer (Grade 6/7) - £33,562 to £46,400
Senior Lecturer (Grade 8) - £47,787 to £57,031
(subject to qualifications and experience)
Responsible to:
Head of the Manchester Pharmacy School (currently
Professor Kay Marshall)
Qualifications:
PhD (or equivalent)
Tenure of post:
Permanent (subject to satisfactory completion of
probationary period)
Summary
This is an outstanding opportunity for a new appointment for a Senior Lecturer or
Lecturer in Cancer Pharmacometrics within the Manchester Pharmacy School with
affiliation to the Institute of Cancer Sciences.
The appointment forms part of a global recruitment drive to bring some of the world’s
leading cancer experts and their teams to Manchester. This represents an exciting
opportunity to recruit some of the best international research talent in screening and
prevention, personalised cancer therapy, radiotherapy related research, lung cancer,
melanoma, women's cancers and haematological oncology.
The University of Manchester is the largest single-site university in the UK with an
ambition to be in the top 25 universities worldwide; The Christie is the biggest
specialised cancer treatment centre in Europe treating over 40,000 patients a year
and the first designated comprehensive centre in the UK. These combined strengths
have been harnessed through development of a common strategic vision and an
investment plan that capitalises on the enormous potential and opportunity especially
in translating research into the clinic.
The appointee will have a comprehensive understanding of pharmacokinetics and
pharmacodynamics applied to the development of personalised cancer therapies and
will also focus on developing a research theme within the Faculty’s Institute of Cancer
Sciences in the area of biomarker modelling.
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He/she will collaborate with colleagues at the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, the
Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit at The Christie and the adjacent Cancer Research UK
Manchester Institute and Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre. The post holder will also
interact with biostatisticians in the Institutes of Human Development and Population
Health.
The Christie’s Early Clinical Trials Unit is one of the largest in the world. The majority
of the clinical trials conducted include imaging, circulating and/or tissue based
biomarkers to predict response, to monitor drug activity for optimal dose and schedule
selection, and as surrogates of clinical response. This post has been developed to
reflect the prioritisation of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) to become
world leading in the delivery of personalised medicine to cancer patients.
The post holder will also contribute to the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
provision and to the advancement of an internationally recognised programme of
research within the Manchester Pharmacy School. The post holder will contribute to
developing teaching and assessment methods, curriculum development and research.
The University of Manchester values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications
from all sections of the community.
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Contents
Page
A)
Proposed Appointment ............................................................................... 4
B)
Details of Appointment .............................................................................. 4
C)
Person Specification .................................................................................. 5
D)
Facilities Related to the Appointment ........................................................... 6
E)
The University of Manchester...................................................................... 7
F)
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust ............................................................ 12
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A)
Proposed Appointment
The appointee will undertake a programme of original research in line with the
priorities of the Manchester Pharmacy School and will contribute to the drive towards
personalised medicine delivery at the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit at The Christie.
The post holder will contribute to the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
provision and to the advancement of an internationally recognised programme of
research within the Manchester Pharmacy School.
B)
Details of Appointment
Research
 Undertake a programme of original research of international quality commensurate
with the priorities of the Manchester Pharmacy School.
 Enhance the drive towards personalised medicine delivery at The Christie’s Early
Phase Clinical Trials Unit.
 Conduct independent research on biomarker modelling methods.
 Work as part of a multidisciplinary team with other members of the University.
 Demonstrate ability to attract research income and publish in high impact
international journals.
 Undertake and manage externally funded research projects, including providing
effective supervision to research staff.
 Attract and supervise postgraduate research students in Pharmacokinetics and
Pharmacodynamics.
Academic Leadership
 Provide academic leadership in cancer pharmacometrics.
 Pursue excellence in teaching and learning
 Lead and participate in internal and external networks to foster collaboration and
to promote The University of Manchester nationally and internationally.
Education
 Contribute to the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching within the
School and associated areas within the University, including preparing and giving
lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops.
 Contribute to the design, preparation and development of learning materials.
 Contribute to the assessment of modules, which includes setting and marking
assignments and examination papers and attend examination boards.
 Supervise undergraduate student projects.
 Supervise or co-supervise postgraduate students (taught and research) in the
completion of their programmes of study.
 Provide advice and guidance to students to support their academic and personal
progress through the personal tutor system.
 Contribute to research and development of innovative methods of teaching,
learning and assessment.
 Undertake
module
leadership
and
management,
including
associated
administration activities.
Management
 Be an active member of the School and research group, liaising with staff at all
levels with regard to teaching, research and administration.
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Co-operate with colleagues in the review and development of the curriculum.
Attend School and University wide meetings and committees as appropriate.
Contribute to the assessment and establishment of health and safety procedures
within the School.
Forge interdisciplinary collaborations across the Manchester Cancer Research
Centre (MCRC) and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC).
Act at all times in accordance with the University’s policies and procedures relating
to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and all other policies and procedures
that apply to the post.
Undertake appropriate training and continuous professional development activities.
Any other tasks as appropriate to the post and grade, such as undergraduate
recruitment, that may be reasonably requested.
All new appointees are expected to attend the University’s teaching and learning
training course. The post holder will have a designated research and teaching mentor
who will advise and facilitate his/her development. In addition, the appointee will be
encouraged to take part in other activities that will allow development of his/her full
potential in research and teaching.
C)
Person Specification
REQUIREMENTS
ESSENTIAL
DESIRABLE
Qualifications
An undergraduate degree (1st
or upper 2nd) in a relevant
discipline
A PhD in pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics or
modelling of biological systems
Training &
Experience
A comprehensive
understanding of
pharmacokinetics and
pharmacodynamics
High level of numeracy and
programming skills
Experience of modelling and
simulation techniques
Evidence of working
independently and as part of a
multidisciplinary team
Excellent project management
skills
Ability to supervise
undergraduate and
postgraduate research projects
Evidence of ability to play a
leadership role in teaching,
education and mentorship
Familiarity with mixed
effects modelling and
associated software
packages
Experience with a
programming language
such as MATLAB or R
Good working knowledge of
biostatistics
Good working knowledge of
pharmacokinetic data
analysis
Experience in cancer
research and, in particular,
knowledge of cancer
therapeutics
Relevant industrial
experience
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Experience of teaching
undergraduate and
postgraduate students
Academic/Research
Achievements
Evidence of ability to provide
academic leadership
A developing publication
record in international journals
of high impact
Capable of developing and
leading research in new areas,
and in establishing links with
industry and other academic
researchers
Ability to generate funding
streams from research
councils, European
Commission and industry and
to manage those externally
funded research projects
Personal Skills
Proven ability to work well
with students and staff
Evidence of effective
communication skills at all
levels, and the ability to foster
interdisciplinary collaboration
Planning and organisational
skills
Personal
Circumstances
Reliable work record
Candidates for Senior Lecturer should be able to demonstrate an established research
profile, with evidence of the ability to successfully attract and manage a portfolio of
externally funded research grants. Candidates should also present a strong publication
record.
D) Facilities related to the appointment
The successful applicant will be based within the Manchester Pharmacy School and
also spend time at The Christie site. At Manchester Pharmacy School, the
Pharmacometrics work is led by Professors Leon Aarons, Brian Houston and Amin
Rostami where the research is focussed on modelling and simulation of
pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data, with a particular interest in both
population pharmacokinetics and physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK),
including in vitro/in vivo extrapolations; plus drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics
(in particular the role of drug transporters in PBPK modelling).
The Clinical Experimental Pharmacology (CEP) group, led by Professor Caroline Dive,
is based at the CR-UK Manchester Institute. It has expanded significantly since its
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establishment in 2004, reflecting the breadth of its activities - in vitro, preclinical, in
vivo and clinical. CEP staff are organised into several teams: PD biomarkers, QA, PK,
Clinical Proteomics, Biomarker discovery, in vivo pharmacology and Molecular
Pharmacology. Core research themes within CEP are the evaluation of novel therapies
that promote apoptosis and those that prevent angiogenesis (in collaboration with
Professor Gordon Jayson) and the evaluation of circulating tumour cells (in
collaboration with Dr Fiona Blackhall).
CEP has established commercial links,
including a significant biomarker alliance with AstraZeneca.
The MCRC Biobank facility collects research samples from the major hospitals across
the Greater Manchester area, including ovarian cancer samples, which can be
accessed for research. Also located on The Christie site is the Wolfson Molecular
Imaging Centre (Imaging Facilities), which supports over 50 cancer specific imaging
research projects.
In addition, the facilities associated with the wider University will be available to the
post holder. Within the Faculty of Life Sciences (FLS Facilities) this includes further
facilities for imaging, biomolecular analysis and bioinformatics. The University Library
has the most extensive range of electronic resources of any UK Higher Education
Library.
The successful candidate will have access to office space and IT support.
E)
The University of Manchester
www.manchester.ac.uk
Manchester Pharmacy School
The School undertakes world leading research from basic pharmaceutical science
through to applied pharmacy practice. It carries out multi-disciplinary research with
demonstrable impact for patients and the public and is known nationally and
internationally for its particular strengths in the areas of:
 Cancer biology and drug development.
 Biofilms and infection.
 Predictive and translational pharmacokinetics research on drug metabolism.
 Prescribing and medicines safety.
 Workforce planning and evaluation of pharmacy services.
Focus of cancer research in the School of Pharmacy:
 Understanding how micro-environmental conditions such as hypoxia, inflammation
and oxidative stress contribute to tumour cell metabolism and signalling, drug
transport and metabolism and response to therapy. Using these findings to develop
novel optical and PET imaging strategies.
 Identifying novel targets for intervention and strategies that would improve
response to currently used radio and/or chemotherapy.
 Improving response to drugs by modelling and predicting pharmacokinetics, drugdrug interactions, pharmacodynamics and applying novel methods to enhance drug
delivery.
 Investigating the interaction of other chronic diseases (hypertension, type 2
diabetes, respiratory disease) and their medications on the progression and
survival of patients with cancer.
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
Generating evidence on medication use and outcomes in cancer patients outside of
the clinical trial setting to inform healthcare economics and epidemiology using real
world data.
The pharmacometrics team comprises the following:
 Professor Leon Aarons has research interests in modelling and simulation of
pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data, with a particular interest in both
population pharmacokinetics and physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK).
 Professor Brian Houston and Doctor Aleksandra Galetin have research interests in
drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, particularly in drug transporters and PBPK
modelling.
 Professor Amin Rostami has research interests in PBPK modelling and in vitro/in
vivo extrapolation.
The University of Manchester is Britain’s largest and most popular university, with a
distinguished history of academic achievement and an ambitious agenda for the
future. The University, with income in excess of £780M, has four Nobel Prize winners
amongst its current academic staff, and has embarked on an exciting and bold course
which aims to make us one of the top 25 universities in the world, as set out in the
University’s strategic vision for 2020: Strategic Vision 2020.
The University of Manchester was established in 1824, bringing together The Victoria
University of Manchester and UMIST to form The University of Manchester. It has an
excellent track record in research, as demonstrated by a research power exceeded
only by Oxbridge in the RAE 2008 and specifically by the award of two Nobel prizes in
physics in 2010. The University’s research strategy can be found here: UoM Research
Strategy.
The academic structure of The University of Manchester is made up of Faculties and
Schools. There are four Faculties and further information about each Faculty and its
related Schools can be found here: UoM Faculties and Schools.
In the last few years, the University has spent more than £400M transforming the
campus and building a world-class environment for outstanding scholars, teachers and
internationally acclaimed research teams. This is the largest investment ever seen in
UK higher education history. A further £250M investment by 2015 will bring the total
spend to more than £650M.
Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk
The Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences is a leading international centre for
research and education in medicine and a spectrum of health-related professions
including nursing, midwifery, social work, pharmacy, dentistry, psychology, audiology
and speech and language therapy.
A major review in 2011/12 led to a new strategy and structure intended to enhance
research and teaching performance. A key component of the new approach is the
creation of a matrix structure linking five Faculty Schools with six Faculty Institutes.
Details of the structure can be found here: FMHS Structure.
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The objective is to ensure that the Faculty achieves a major international academic
profile in each priority area within a period of five years and the strategy focuses
research efforts in six priority areas:
 Human Development including Women’s and Children’s Health
 Cardiovascular Sciences
 Cancer Sciences
 Inflammation and Repair
 Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health
 Population and Health Sciences
The Faculty has a total income of £210M, around 6,500 undergraduate students and
2,500 postgraduate students. It has strong relationships with outstanding NHS
partners, which are critical in achieving our mission.
Manchester Pharmacy School
www.pharmacy.manchester.ac.uk
The Manchester Pharmacy School, University of Manchester, is one of the UK’s leading
centres for research with 95% of its work classed as internationally significant in the
latest national assessment of research in UK universities (RAE 2008).
The Manchester Pharmacy School dedicates itself to research on medicines, aiming to
improve aspects of their design, development and use, as well as research covering
the practice of pharmacy and the delivery of pharmaceutical services to patients and
consumers. This is being advanced within a number of strategic research themes
which encompass both the science and practice of pharmacy. It also delivers a fouryear MPharm degree programme leading to a professional qualification in pharmacy,
and a number of post-graduate courses, including the Pharmaceutical Industry
Advanced Training programme (PIAT) and the School hosts the Centre for Pharmacy
Postgraduate Education (CPPE) .
The Manchester Pharmacy School has close relationships with Medicine, and Life
Sciences, and is the location of industrial collaborations within the Centre for Applied
Pharmacokinetic Research (http://www.pharmacy.manchester.ac.uk/capkr/) and CoE
Biopharmaceuticals (http://www.coebp.ls.manchester.ac.uk/), particularly relating to
development of clinical trials within MAHSC.
The Manchester Pharmacy School is located in the renovated Stopford Building on
Oxford Rd. The Head of the School is Professor Kay Marshall. Further information can
be found on the school website at http://www.pharmacy.manchester.ac.uk/
Institute of Cancer Sciences
www.cancer.manchester.ac.uk
The Institute of Cancer Sciences is one of six Faculty Institutes within the Faculty of
Medical and Human Sciences.
It comprises five research themed Centres:
Haematological Oncology; Paediatric, Teenage and Young Adult Cancer; Personalised
Therapy; Radiotherapy Related Research and Women’s Cancer. Research interests
span from biomarker studies using clinical proteomics and microarray analyses to
clinical trials.
The present management team includes:
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Professor Henry Kitchener
Professor Tim Illidge
Professor Vaskar Saha
Professor Paul Townsend
Professor John Radford
Dr Andrew Clamp
Institute Director
Centre Lead for Radiotherapy Related Research
Centre Lead for Paediatric, Teenage and Young Adult
Cancer
Centre Lead for Personalised Therapy
Centre Lead for Haematological Oncology
Centre Lead for Women’s Cancer
There are 36 substantive academic members of staff within the Institute, including 25
academic clinicians. The Institute of Cancer Sciences has a first rate publication
record in high impact medicine and cancer journals and has a significant research
income from industry, research councils and charities. The majority of the Institute of
Cancer Sciences researchers have laboratory space in one of the University buildings
on The Christie site, which provides a focus for cancer research activity - combining
an international reputation for cancer research with the largest scale cancer clinical
service in the UK.
Other activity in the Institute of Cancer Sciences is based either on the University’s
Oxford Road site or in key Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC)
partner sites at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,
University Hospitals of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and Salford Royal
NHS Foundation Trust. The large patient base found in Greater Manchester and links
to the research network provides major opportunities for the growth of clinical and
translational research, a key objective of the Trusts and the University. The Institute
of Cancer Sciences plays a key role in taking advantage of this opportunity to
seamlessly link basic and clinical science.
Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute
www.cruk.manchester.ac.uk
The Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute is a leading cancer research institute
funded by Cancer Research UK (CR-UK), the largest independent cancer research
organisation in the world. Research spans the whole spectrum of cancer research,
from programmes investigating the molecular and cellular basis of cancer, to those
focused on translational research and the development of novel therapeutic
approaches and experimental pharmacology.
Currently the Institute contains multiple Cancer Research UK-funded basic science and
translational science research groups. The programmes span from basic science
mechanisms of cell proliferation through to the identification of new biomarkers for
novel treatments.
The CR-UK Manchester Institute is located in the Paterson building and has excellent
laboratory facilities and outstanding core services, including microarrays, confocal
microscopy, bioinformatics, histology, and access to mass-spectrometry based
proteomics. There is also a biological resource unit with expertise in generating
transgenic mice as well as tumour implantation studies.
A Cancer Research UK funded Drug Discovery Unit was established at the CR-UK
Manchester Institute in 2009. Integrating medicinal, computational and synthetic
chemistry with in vitro and cellular biology, the Unit investigates novel drug discovery
targets in an attempt to provide new chemical entities for the treatment of unmet
clinical needs in cancer patients. It has established facilities to enable state-of-the-art
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biological and clinical target assessment and validation, small molecule drug design
and synthesis and the biological evaluation of the resultant compounds.
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
www.mahsc.ac.uk
The University, and in particular the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, is a key
member of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC).
Formed in 2008, MAHSC is a Federation of Equal Partners enabled by a Company
Limited by Guarantee. The partners involved in the MAHSC are: The University of
Manchester, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,
Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Salford Primary Care Trust (NHS
Salford), Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and
University Hospitals of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.
MAHSC is one of only five Department of Health designated AHSCs in the UK. The
designation is a mark of excellence across research, innovation, education and patient
service, and recognition of the potential to excel in translational medicine. MAHSC’s
vision is to be a leading global centre for the delivery of innovative applied health
research and education into healthcare. As with other AHSCs, MAHSC has a dual role:
to act as a beacon of international excellence for the UK and to provide leadership and
early adoption for our local health system. This will be delivered via a tripartite
approach encompassing: research and innovation; education and training; and clinical
service.
Manchester Cancer Research Centre
www.mcrc.manchester.ac.uk
The Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) was established in January 2006 by
The University of Manchester, The Christie and Cancer Research UK to integrate
cancer research efforts across the basic, translational and clinical research spectrum.
It brings together the expertise, vision and resources of partner organisations that
have formidable individual reputations in cancer research and treatment.
The
partnership harnesses Manchester’s significant strengths to maximise the enormous
potential and opportunity, ultimately leading to improvements in treatment that will
benefit patients in the city and beyond.
The MCRC forms the cancer research arm of the Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre (MAHSC). It is also an accredited Cancer Research UK Centre, part of a
national framework of 18 Centres of excellence in cancer research.
Unprecedented advances in our understanding of cancer biology, coupled with
developments in enabling technologies, have provided a unique opportunity to
implement personalised medicine for cancer patients. The MCRC is exploiting these
opportunities by implementing an integrated personalised medicine strategy - using
individual patient’s clinical, genomic and epidemiological characteristics to deliver the
most effective first-line treatments, and to modify treatment as the tumours evolve
under the selective pressure of treatment. The MCRC’s approach will transform
patient care and improve cancer outcomes, achieving sustained responses to
treatment. Going beyond the current personalised medicine paradigm, which is
largely focussed on late stage patients entering molecularly-targeted drug based
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therapies, the MCRC aims to implement personalised medicine at diagnosis and all the
way through treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and drug therapy.
The MCRC is almost uniquely placed within the UK to be in the vanguard of
personalised medicine developments, with a proven track record of working together
and an impressive staff of outstanding leaders who will deliver our research
programmes. These wide ranging innovative and interconnected programmes are
supported by a comprehensive platform of facilitating infrastructure and technologies,
ensuring that exploratory translational research is taken through the regulatory steps
needed for clinical testing and robust demonstration of clinical utility. Few places
have the breadth and depth of expertise, the buy-in from all partners, the investment,
the infrastructure, and the access to a large and diverse patient population to become
internationally leading in this area.
A major achievement in 2013 was the successful bid to establish a national cancer
imaging research centre that formally links Manchester with the University of
Cambridge – the Cancer Research UK/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council Cancer Imaging Centre in Cambridge and Manchester. It combines cuttingedge translational research and clinical trials with state-of-the-art imaging, genomics
and pre-clinical research. By combining these two locations the CMCIC has access to a
large patient population and vital clinical trials infrastructure supported by Cancer
Research UK’s Experimental Cancer Research Centres.
Cancer Research UK has recognised the potential of lung cancer research in
Manchester and, following the successful recruitment of new Lung Cancer Chairs, will
be awarded CR-UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence status jointly with University
College London (UCL). The Manchester-UCL Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence will
combine unique and complementary strengths in clinical and translational cancer
research between the two sites to create an environment in which basic and clinical
lung cancer research of international standing will flourish.
Outstanding facilities already exist within the MCRC, however, a new research building
is currently under development and will be completed in the summer of 2014. This
will allow for the expansion of vital research activities with tremendous potential for
future breakthroughs that improve treatment for cancer patients. It will accommodate
250 staff, including 150 scientists whose research will focus entirely on early cancer
research that aims to understand how cancer starts, develops and progresses.
Working alongside these researchers, The Christie will re-locate 100 clinical trials
support staff to the second floor of the building.
Researchers in Manchester have access to the MCRC Biobank, which provides
scientists with access to a large quantity of high quality biological samples for
research purposes. The Biobank provides a centralised resource, collecting samples
from five NHS Trusts across the Greater Manchester area.
F)
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
www.christie.nhs.uk
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was established in 1901 by charitable donations,
as a specialist hospital caring for cancer patients and developing new treatments. It
became a Foundation Trust in April 2007, has 30,000 members and a turnover of
£183M. It has a green governance rating and a financial risk rating of 4 (good) from
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Monitor and was rated one of the top 5 hospitals in England by the 2011 staff and
inpatient survey.
The Christie is the sole provider of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to the 3.2 million
people in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire cancer network, which is the largest in
England. It also provides highly specialist surgical cancer services to patients across
the north west and nationally. In addition, it delivers radiotherapy services from two
satellite centres that it runs at the Royal Oldham and Salford Royal hospital sites.
Consultants from The Christie visit 8 other hospitals in the network, delivering
outpatient services and some chemotherapy treatments.
The Christie brings together basic and translational research with NHS service on a
single site to deliver new cancer treatments. It is one of the largest cancer centres in
Europe, treating more than 40,000 cancer patients a year, and has been elected to
the board of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), the umbrella
organisation for all the major cancer centres in the EU.
The Christie is organised in four clinical management divisions: Networked Services
Division includes the Departments of Medical Oncology, Clinical Oncology, Palliative
Care, Endocrinology, and Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology. Cancer Centre Services
includes Surgery, Anaesthetics, HDU, Haematology, Radiology, Pathology, Pharmacy
and Supportive care. In addition, the divisions of Christie Medical Physics and
Engineering and Research and Education deliver important components of the
comprehensive cancer centre.
The Departments of Medical and Clinical Oncology have international reputations for
their clinical work. All consultants are site specialised and common treatment policies
are developed through the multi-disciplinary Disease Groups (DGs). Links to the
cancer units are maintained through a number of peripheral and outreach clinics
across the network.
The Patient Treatment Centre opened in November 2010 and is a purpose built facility
encompassing a dedicated Clinical Trials Unit, an outpatient chemotherapy treatment
facility and a private patient facility. Two satellite radiotherapy centres, at Oldham
and Salford, enabling increased capacity for treatment and local delivery of treatment,
opened in August 2010 and July 2011 respectively. There are plans for The Christie to
develop satellite centres in the Pennine Trust and in Salford so that ambulatory care
can be delivered locally.
The Christie is committed to cancer research. The Research Division has strong links
with The University of Manchester, Cancer Research UK and the Manchester Cancer
Research Centre.
Patient Treatment Centre and Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit
The dedicated early phase Clinical Trials Unit was established on The Christie site in
2003. The subsequent development of the Clinical Experimental Pharmacology group,
GCLP compliant laboratories, the Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre and the MCRC
Biobank have complemented this clinical infrastructure and, over the last 8 years, the
Unit has flourished, doubling its research activity to more than 10,000 patient visits
annually. It presently supports over 100 clinical trials, recruits over 700 patients per
annum to early phase studies and collects over 18,000 biological research samples. A
successful Clinical Research Infrastructure bid has allowed a major programme of
expansion for clinical trials at The Christie and this has enabled Manchester to become
one of the largest centres for early phase clinical trials worldwide. This infrastructure
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forms part of the Patient Treatment Centre, a £35M development that includes
enlarged facilities for clinical and translational research, an outpatient chemotherapy
treatment facility, a pharmacy and a private patient facility. The opening of the
Patient Treatment Centre in November 2010 reinforced Manchester as one of the
premier sites for conducting early phase clinical research world-wide.
MAHSC Trials Co-ordination Unit (MAHSC CTU)
The primary purpose of the MAHSC Trials Co-ordination Unit is to undertake the
management and coordination of investigator led clinical trials. The unit provides a
wide range of services including; study design protocol development, cost estimates
for grant funding applications, study setup, study quality management, study
randomisation service, data management and statistical analysis.
In November 2007, the MAHSC-CTU achieved full UK CRC trial unit registration; a prerequisite to enable DH/NIHR grant funding opportunities.
It is the only such
registered unit in the Greater Manchester region.
Currently the MAHSC-CTU has a portfolio of 15 managed trials, including major
national and international multi centre trials covering over 120 clinical research sites
investigating treatment for patients with a range of cancers.
The unit has been awarded funds from the HTA, Cancer Research UK and
Breakthrough Breast Cancer, totalling over 2.5 million pounds. In 2010, additional
pump priming infrastructure funding was awarded by the Christie Charity to facilitate
future expansion.
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