Together, we’re changing the future of cancer research

Thanks to the generous support of our donor community, pioneering research at Birmingham is accelerating the development of kinder, smarter and safer tests and treatments that have the potential to transform lives. Your generosity enables researchers such as Dr Carmela de Santo to investigate how the body's own immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer, helping to translate groundbreaking discoveries into new therapies that reach patients faster.

Overcoming cancer's greatest defences

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and while immunotherapy has revolutionised treatment for some patients, it still fails many others. The reason, more often than not, is the tumour's ability to suppress and outsmart the immune system. Her research goes to the heart of that problem.

This work has already informed international clinical trials, including treatments being tested in children with relapsed cancers who have very few other options, offering new hope to young patients and their families.

The two international trials are targeting a metabolic pathway that tumours exploit to starve immune cells of the nutrients they need to function. A third trial, called GOTHAM and launched in 2021, is testing a targeted antibody therapy designed to deplete myeloid suppressor cells first characterised in her laboratory.

Looking further ahead, Dr de Santo's research into engineered immune cells, designed to survive and thrive inside the hostile tumour environment, has already yielded two patents. This is the kind of foundational science that becomes the cancer treatment of the next decade.

Why Birmingham?

Dr de Santo shares why Birmingham is the best place for this research:

‘Birmingham is genuinely one of the finest environments in the world for this kind of work, and I say that having had the opportunity to collaborate with institutions across the globe. What makes it exceptional is how naturally the lab connects to the clinic here. I work side by side with world-class oncologists treating both adult and paediatric patients, and there is something quietly extraordinary when a discovery made at the bench can be shaping a clinical trial protocol by the end of the year.

‘Being at the heart of one of the UK's most diverse and densely populated regions matters too. It means our clinical partners have access to large, varied patient cohorts, which I've come to see as essential — not just useful — for research that actually translates into care. The collaborative culture here is also remarkable. My work spans haematology, paediatric oncology, obstetrics, lung cancer — fields that, elsewhere, might barely cross paths. Here, that conversation just happens, naturally and constantly, almost without anyone having to try.

‘The moments I am proudest of are the clinical ones. Seeing the GOTHAM trial launch in 2021, knowing it grew directly from discoveries made in our own laboratory, was extraordinarily meaningful. The same goes for the other trials that followed. When you work in cancer research, you carry this hope, quietly, for years: that your work will one day matter to a patient. Being here, seeing that it already does, is the thing I hold onto.’

The importance of philanthropic funding

Philanthropic support plays a unique role in making this progress possible. It gives researchers the freedom to pursue bold ideas, supports talented PhD students who will become the next generation of cancer scientists, and helps promising discoveries to move from the laboratory into clinical trials where they can make a real difference to patients. While there is still much to be done, the support of alumni and friends is bringing us closer to a future where cancer is detected earlier, treated more effectively, and has a far less devastating impact on people’s lives.