Discovery Research Committee
Our Discovery Research Committee is responsible for the strategic development, funding and review, oversight and evaluation of Cancer Research UK’s portfolio of basic, early-translational research Programme, Project and Pilot awards.
The Discovery Research Committee meets twice a year in May and November.
Research areas
The Discovery Research Committee aims to transform our fundamental understanding of cancer and serve as a strong foundation for the translation of discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat and cancer. Discovery Research Committee has a broad remit spanning basic and translational cancer research, including fundamental biology, genetics and immunology, biomarker discovery and validation and preclinical studies, and research into imaging and radiotherapy. The Committee also supports researchers in fields such as Immunology, engineering and physical sciences to apply their work to cancer.
Funding schemes
Discovery Programme Awards
Programme Awards provide long-term support for broad, multidisciplinary research where the aim is to answer an interrelated set of questions. Applications for Programme Awards will be accepted in any of the following research areas:
- Basic biological research relating to cancer
- Preclinical studies that will generate biological data to underpin therapeutic development
- Biomarker research
- Imaging research
- Radiotherapy research
- The application of engineering and physical sciences to cancer
Discovery Programme Foundation Awards
Programme Foundation Awards allow excellent mid-career researchers to develop their independent research group. On completion of a Programme Foundation Award we expect researchers to be in a competitive position to apply for a Discovery Committee Programme Award. Applications will be accepted within the same scientific remit as Programme Awards.
Multidisciplinary Project Awards
The Multidisciplinary Project Award supports collaborations between clinical and non-clinical cancer researchers, and scientists from engineering/physical science disciplines, where the aim is to generate creative research ideas and explore their applicability in cancer research.
How proposals are judged
The Committee meets twice a year in May and November and assesses all applications on the basis of their scientific and strategic importance, supported with guidance from expert peer review panels relevant to each grant. Applications are judged on the basis of scientific excellence, innovation and relevance to cancer research.
Schemes reviewed by this committee
Committee and panel members
Chair of the Discovery Research Committee
Dr Simon Boulton – The Francis Crick Institute
Members of the Discovery Research Committee
Dr Sophie Acton - University College London
Dr Renata Basto - Institut Curie
Professor Andrea Brand - University of Cambridge and New York University
Professor Dinis Calado – The Francis Crick Institute
Professor Elaine Dzierzak - University of Edinburgh
Dr Michaela Frye - DFKZ Heidelberg
Dr Raj Jena - University of Cambridge
Professor Sir David Klenerman – University of Cambridge
Professor Simona Parrinello – University College London
Professor KJ Patel (Cancer Research UK Chief Scientist) – University of Oxford
Professor Daniel Peeper – Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI)
Professor Dr Rob Pieters – Prinses Máxima Centrum
Professor Sergio Quezada – University College London
Professor Christian Siebold – University of Oxford
Professor Charles Swanton (Cancer Research UK Chief Clinician) – Francis Crick Institute and University College London
Professor Madalena Tarsounas - University of Oxford
Professor Steve Wedge – Newcastle University and Cancer Research Horizons
Members of the Multidisciplinary Review Panel
Professor Sir David Klenerman — University of Cambridge
Dr Claus Jorgensen — CRUK Manchester Institute
Professor Trevor Graham — Institute of Cancer Research
Professor Francesca Palombo — University of Exeter
Dr Marco Gerlinger — The Institute of Cancer Research, London
Professor Mengxing Tang — Imperial College London
Contact for this committee
More opportunities for discovery researchers
We support a broad portfolio of discovery research, including basic biology, genetics and immunology, biomarker discovery and preclinical studies, and engineering and physical sciences applied to cancer. We have a variety of grant funding and other opportunities to accelerate your research.