Cardiff researcher awarded Future Leaders fellowship to develop smart viruses for brain cancer
16 January 2025
Dr Emily Bates, part of the Systems Immunity Research Institute, has begun work as part of a Brain Tumour Charity Future Leaders Fellowship.
She will work on research that explores whether smart viruses are effective in treating an aggressive form of brain cancer called Glioblastoma (GBM), for which there is currently no cure.
Dr Bates, who is part of Viral Immunotherapies and Advanced Therapeutics (VITAL) group at Cardiff University, will receive funding of £225,000 over three years and is one of only five Fellows selected worldwide. Her work uses oncyloctic viruses to target GBM cells and kill them without harming healthy cells.
I'm delighted to be one of five researchers to be awarded this Fellowship from Brain Tumour Charity. Exploring 'smart viruses' that seek out and kill only the tumour cells offers a new avenue for treatment that could change many lives.
Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumour in adults and is particularly dangerous as it can evade the immune system, making it harder to treat. The types of virus Dr Bates uses in her research can distinguish between cancerous and healthy cells, so they can avoid causing harm. Oncolytic viruses have previously been tested to treat other forms of cancer.
This fellowship presents a fantastic opportunity for Emily to progress her career while contributing to the development of desperately needed therapies for glioblastoma. It also coincides with an exciting chapter for cancer research at Cardiff, as we prepare to launch our new cancer strategy and the Cardiff Cancer Research Hub this spring, with brain cancer research playing a central role in our vision.
Brain Tumour Charity has funded two fellowships at Cardiff University through their Future Leaders programme. The fellowship offers £75,000 of funding per year for three years.
