Worcester Research into Leukaemia Presented at Major International Conference
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Research into leukaemia, being carried out at the University of Worcester, is to be presented at a major conference in America at the end of this week.
A team of scientists have been working on analysing blood cells, exploring markers to understand mutations that affect leukaemia cell growth. They have been using a piece of equipment called a flow cytometer, which allows them to analyse over 2,000 cells per second.
Their work has now led to two presentations at the American Society of Haematology's annual conference in San Diego, which takes place from December 1-4.
Dr Steve Coles, who is leading the research at Worcester, said: "We are really pleased to have two presentations accepted at this major conference.
"The leukaemia research we are under taking at Worcester is novel, and has been helped by the investment of the University in some new equipment.
"It has allowed us to develop a new method of analysing cells, enabling us to get a lot more information in a shorter space of time."
Dr Coles and his team have been exploring levels of oxidative stress in white blood cells, which leave behind a footprint, allowing them to investigate leukaemia cellular processes.
"We have published a system for analysing healthy white blood cells and cancerous leukaemia blood cells," said Dr Coles, who has more than 10 years" experience researching leukaemia.
"The ultimate aim is for our research to help improve diagnosis and treatments and have a real impact for patients."
The American Society of Haematology's annual conference is the world's most comprehensive haematology event of the year, and will allow the Worcester scientists to network with a global community of more than 25,000 haematology professionals from every subspecialty.
Dr Coles said: "We are really excited to be able to share our research at this conference. All of our research feeds into our teaching at Worcester, as we educate the next generation of scientists to take this research forward in the future."
The team at Worcester specialise in research into three chronic illnesses " leukaemia, neuro-degeneration and cardiovascular disease.