A non-clinical Senior Lecturer in Medicine has been awarded a research grant by the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Dr Lugang Yu, from the Department of Gastroenterology in the Institute of Translational Medicine, has received the grant to investigate the possible link between ingestion of a dietary nut and the risk of tumour cell spread in cancer patients.
It is well known that improper dietary habit plays an important role in the initiation of cancer. Up to 40% of all human cancers are now believed to be preventable if a better lifestyle including a healthier diet is chosen. On the other hand, little is known of the influence of dietary habits on cancer cell spread to remote organs (the primary reason of cancer-associated fatality) once a tumour is established.
Dr Yu’s project will investigate the potential influence of a nut protein that commonly exists in our foodstuff on tumour cell spread and survival of cancer patients.
Dr Yu said: “The American Institute for Cancer Research, who funds innovative research specifically on food and nutrition in relation to cancer prevention and treatment, rarely supports research projects from outside USA. I am very pleased with this prestigious research award. It shows that the research in this University is in the forefront in this increasingly important area of cancer studies.”