Our past projects
We fund research around the United Kingdom as part of our vision of a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer.
You can find out more about the research which we have funded in the past through the below links.
Professor Robert Steele
University of Dundee
Professor Robert Steele and his team investigated ways to improve how the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is used to improve early diagnosis of bowel cancer.
Miss Rachael Clifford
University of Liverpool
Bowel Cancer UK/RCS Research Fellow, Miss Rachael Clifford, looked at ways to improve how well radiotherapy works for patients with rectal cancer.
Mr Joshua Burke
University of Leeds
Bowel Cancer UK/RCS Research Fellow, Mr Joshua Burke, looked at ways to reduce a serious complication of bowel cancer surgery, and if a special type of stem cell will help improve healing after surgery and reduce the chance of a complication known as ‘anastomotic leak’.
Miss Roshani Patel
Imperial College London
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a rare genetic condition that greatly increases a person’s chance of developing bowel cancer. Roshani Patel, our Bowel Cancer UK/RCS Research Fellow, explored why some people with FAP are still at risk of developing bowel cancer following surgery.
Professor Sir John Burn and Dr Jem Rashbass
Newcastle University
Lynch syndrome is a genetic condition that increases the lifetime risk of bowel cancer to up to 80%. Professor Sir John Burn, working with Dr Jem Rashbass at Health Data Insight CiC, created a national registry of people with Lynch syndrome to help inform surveillance, treatment and care of people with the condition.
Dr Juliet Usher-Smith
University of Cambridge
Research has already shown that the national bowel cancer screening programme can save lives. In this project, Dr Usher-Smith and her colleagues looked at whether more information on lifestyle factors or genes could help improve the screening programme further.
Miss Michelle Johnpulle
University of Leeds and St James University Hospital, Leeds
Our Bowel Cancer UK/Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellow, Michelle Johnpulle, investigated ways to improve treatment for patients with bowel cancer that has become resistant to chemotherapy.
Miss Marta Penna
Imperial College London and Oxford University Hospital
Our first Bowel Cancer UK/Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellow, Marta Penna, improved training for surgeons who use a pioneering new technique for rectal cancer known as transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME).
Dr Claire Palles
University of Birmingham
Dr Palles and team looked in detail at the genes of younger bowel cancer patients to help better identify people at higher risk of the disease in the future.