York scientists win $300,000 to break new ground with bladder research award
Posted on 23 April 2010
Professor Jenny Southgate and Dr Simon Baker, of the Jack Birch Unit for Molecular Carcinogenesis in the University’s Department of Biology, were declared winners of the Astellas European Foundation’s 2010 Urology Prize.
Professor Southgate and Dr Baker, who are the first UK winners of the award, received US$300,000, to support their research project entitled 'The Urotheliome', at the Astellas European Foundation Award Event in Barcelona.
Our project will use the latest next-generation sequencing to help us understand how this unique tissue works
Professor Jenny Southgate
Professor Southgate said: “Our project will use the latest next-generation sequencing to provide new insights and build a detailed receptor expression profile for the [bladder lining] urothelium to help us understand how this unique tissue works
“This will contribute directly to resolving the urothelial contribution to diseases such as painful and overactive bladder.”
Dr Baker added: “We are extremely happy to receive this prize and very excited by the potential of this work to drive forward research. We hope to find new pathways in the urothelium and to convert this information into targets for drug discovery.”
Dr John Bolodeoku, Astellas European Foundation Officer and Vice- President of Medical Affairs and Health Economics for Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd, said: "We received 54 entries from 13 European countries. As always, the standard of these entries was extremely high covering a broad range of topics in urology.
“It was very difficult to choose one winner but Professor Southgate's research will provide vital information to advance our understanding of the signalling and functioning of the human urothelium and its contribution to disorders such as overactive bladder."
The Astellas European Foundation is a registered charity set up in 2005 with the goal of providing support for programmes and activities that contribute to the advancement of an increasingly healthy society. The Astellas European Foundation Urology Award supports basic medical and related scientific programmes which contribute to advancements in urology. The winner of the prize fund was chosen by a Judging Faculty, including independent European opinion leaders.
Notes to editors:
- The Jack Birch Unit for Molecular Carcinogenesis (JBUMC) was opened in 1992, funded by the generosity of the late Jack Birch, OBE and York Against Cancer. It focuses on the investigation of human carcinomas, with special emphasis on bladder cancer, the fifth most common adult cancer. Professor Jennifer Southgate was appointed Director of the JBUMC in 1999.
- The University of York’s Department of Biology is one of the leading centres for biological teaching and research in the UK. In the recent Research Assessment Exercise, the Department was equal first among broad spectrum bioscience departments. The Department both teaches degree courses and undertakes research across the whole spectrum of modern Biology, from molecular genetics and biochemistry to ecology.
- The Astellas European Foundation is a registered charity, formed in 2005,with the long-term goal of providing support for programmes and activities that contribute to the advancement of an increasingly healthy society. Inline with this aim, the Foundation made substantial donations to the global charities. The Astellas European Foundation also supports Astellas employees in their private fundraising efforts for charitable causes. The Foundation is supported through funding from Astellas Pharma Europe Limited.
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