How many lives has your research saved so far?

Algernon Bloom answered on 16 May 2022:

I have worked on some clinical trials that if they are successful could hopefully help a lot of people with pancreatic cancer.

Working with animals, I have developed software that allows researchers to use a computer model for a large portion of their experiments instead of mice. I haven’t checked in a while but in the 3 years I was working on it, it saved over 1,000 mice.

Karin Purshouse answered on 17 May 2022: last edited 17 May 2022 11:02 am

Translating research from the lab to the clinic takes many years. So unfortunately I think it’s unlikely that any of my PhD research will save lives before I finish my studies. But even then, I think it is really hard to know. The Oxford COVID vaccine, which has saved millions of lives, was based on researchers realising that work done in another area could be rapidly used to develop a COVID vaccine, so sometimes you just don’t know how your work might be important.
In the clinic I have been involved with early phase clinical trials – these are trials where we are giving a new drug to patients for the first time. Even if drugs are successful here, we have to then move on to full clinical trials to check that they work better than current options. So basically research is a big team effort, and everyone from lab scientists right through to the clinical teams that give the treatment make a huge contribution.

Jocelyn Bisson answered on 17 May 2022:

Saving lives with cancer research is a huge collaborative effort so it’s hard to measure individual lives saved by one person’s research. It takes years of research and work from many scientists to produce new cures or drugs. It’s great though as it feels like we’re all working together as a team towards an end goal. Every new scrap of information that I discover is a piece in the big jigsaw puzzle leading to a new finding.

Chelsea Gerada answered on 17 May 2022:

My research is looking to improve current therapy options for cancer patients by looking at ways to re-train the immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. For this research I mainly use pre-clinical animal models which are utilised to make sure new treatments are safe and effective before using them on patients. The aim of my research is to use these treatments in clinical trials to help patients but there are lots of steps that need to be taken before this can be achieved.

Annabel Black answered on 17 May 2022:

It’s hard to count how many people might have benefitted from my research. New drug discoveries and clinical trials (where new treatments or combinations of existing treatments are tested on patients to see if more people might benefit from them) are based off of findings in labs using samples from patients, cells that mimic tumours or mice. Often a treatment that works to stop cancer cells growing in a dish or in a mouse don’t work in people because our biology is different to cell cultures and mice! However, the more we find out about how different cancers grow, spread and behave the better chance we have of developing treatments that DO work in people and not just our cell cultures or mice. Cancer research is a very big team effort and often the best results come from lab groups and doctors from all over the world collaborating together and sharing ideas.

Gulnar Abdullayeva answered on 17 May 2022:

It is a hard question to answer. In cancer research, every small step matters. If your work contributes to some extent, it is a success. Translational research (from the lab to the clinic, also known as “from bench to bedside”) basically starts conducting basic experiments in the lab. Next, goes the pre-clinical research which refers to the testing of a drug, procedure or other medical treatment in animal models before trials may be carried out in humans. Finally, clinical studies performed on humans lead to the evaluation of the medical intervention.

Erminia Romano answered on 19 May 2022:

Unfortunately, no lives saved so far. However, I work in a group where discoveries have reached the clinic. So, I am confident I can contribute to save at least 1 life!

Sophie Richardson answered on 20 May 2022:

So far, it is very difficult to say. A lot of the research I have done is retrospective, which means it is done using samples from patients after they have been through treatment, sometimes years later. However, some people in my lab work on clinical trials. These have a direct effect on patient treatment. The trials in our lab find changes in genes (mutations) that help doctors decide which treatment will work best for a patient and can give us information on how well a patient is responding to treatment.

Maria Peiris Pages answered on 25 May 2022:

I think that is a beautiful question. And I think that is the reason many of us do what we do. Having said that, it is very difficult to measure research in the terms of number of lives. Saving a life is the result of a huge, colossal effort that involves many people and many years (and many efforts, attempts and failures and let’s try it again!). And every tiny step you take forward, or every bit of information that you manage to reveal contributes, adds a little grain of sand, to finding a novel treatment or a way to prevent cancer

Rachel Harris answered on 1 Jun 2022:

To be honest, none so far. But I hope that the next steps after my work will be to do a clinical trial using the drug combination I’m using.

Saadia Karim answered on 1 Jun 2022:

My research is looking to improve current treatments available and to look for better combinations of treatments with fewer side effects. Some of the drug/treatment combinations we have researched have shown promising results. A couple are currently in clinical trials which is great and what we are all working towards however a lot more need more research and data before they can be used in patients. Many drug combinations are not effective but it is still important that that research is carried out to ensure treatments which are no good are not translated into patients with pancreatic cancer.

Question: How many lives has your research saved so far?

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