Oral and maxillofacial surgeon receives first Royal College of Surgeons-Wellcome Trust joint fellowship
24 September 2010
Mr Schache, a Specialist Registrar at University Hospital Aintree and the University of Liverpool, has received of £179 707 to conduct a two-year project investigating the best test for HPV-positive cancers and improve targeted, individualised treatment.
The new annual RCS Faculty of Dental Surgery-Wellcome Trust Joint Dental Research Fellowship reflects a shared interest in improving human health and patient care.
Professor Jonathan Shepherd, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and Chair of the RCS Faculty of Dental Surgery Research Committee, said: "The Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons is committed to continuous investment in surgical research with the aim of improving the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of dental and orofacial conditions. We're thrilled to be working in partnership with the Wellcome Trust for the first time to achieve that aim and encourage more research across the dental specialties."
Dr John Williams, Head of Clinical Activities at the Wellcome Trust, said: "The Welcome Trust is dedicated to achieving improvements in human health and I am delighted to be working in partnership with the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons to support research improving the understanding of dental and oral diseases."
Mr Andrew Schache said: "I am grateful to the Royal College of Surgeons and the Wellcome Trust for their support so that I can continue my research into the role of HPV in oral and oropharyngeal cancer. With incidence rates increasing in the UK it feels timely to be investigating this aggressive disease and I hope that my research will go some way to help clinicians better individualise treatment for patients."
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with 500 000 cases diagnosed each year, and oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma makes up the majority of those cases. In the UK, rates of mouth and throat cancer are steadily increasing despite a reduction in tobacco smoking.Recent international research has linked the HPV, most commonly associated with cervical cancer, to development of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
The Faculty of Dental Surgery-Wellcome Trust Joint Dental Research Fellowship is one of several research schemes run by the RCS. Miss Rishma Shah, Clinical Lecturer at UCL Eastman Dental Institute and Hospital, has been awarded a 2010 Faculty of Dental Surgery Research Fellowship to support her research into facial muscle tissue, part of her ongoing work to help patients with facial deformity. Several Smaller Grants Scheme prizes have also been awarded this year to further clinical research into:
- the causes of cleft palate
- oral health in hospital inpatients
- the molecular biology of periodontal disease
- new filling materials.
Visit the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons website for more information about their grants, awards and fellowships.
Image: HPV infection in squamous cells. Credit: Wellcome Images
