The Kad lab was recently awarded a £160,000 Pioneer Award from the Cancer Research UK that fund high-risk, high-reward projects.
The aim of the work is to find new antimicrobial targets to tackle the high rate of infection that occurs with patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy as a result of immunosuppression. Such infections reduce the effectiveness of the anti-cancer treatment, and in extreme cases, can lead to patient death. Therefore, finding new bespoke antimicrobial therapies for patients undergoing chemotherapy will improve cancer treatment success.
The Kad lab studies DNA repair at the individual molecule level, meaning that single strands of DNA (so small they cannot be seen by a light microscopy) are investigated using sophisticated imaging techniques. This work will require “tiny vessels” to be built where the interaction of single DNA molecules with the DNA repair machinery can be imaged in the presence of candidate drugs or other small molecules. Specialised nanofabrication tools and processes are required to achieve this, and Dr Kad will work with the Wright group at the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre (nmRC) at the University of Nottingham where the necessary equipment and expertise is available.
Image: Dr Neil Kad