At Birmingham ECMC we are committed to developing and delivering the next generation of personalised therapies. Led by Professor Gary Middleton, we enjoy an international reputation for innovation in this field, driving the development of novel, stratified medicine studies in partnership with our CRUK Clinical Trials Unit. A nationally-renowned cancer genomics hub, our experimental research also benefits from collaborations with Genomics Birmingham, led by centre Theme Lead Professor Andrew Beggs.
As the leading national cancer recruiter to the 100,000 Genomes Project, we strive to utilise this data to benefit our patients, offering novel, personalised experimental treatments. We deliver our research at one of the largest teaching hospital trusts in England, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which sees and treats more than 2.2 million people every year.
Launched in 2015, The National Lung Matrix Trial constitutes a step change in our approach to stratified medicine, matching specific therapies to key genetic changes in patients’ cancer cells. The largest precision medicine study in non-small cell lung cancer globally, the trial has benefited from national adoption across the ECMC network. Its initial findings, recently published in Nature, will have a significant impact on future study designs, addressing the challenge of matching therapies to genomically complex tumours, and the need for corresponding pre-clinical models.
A new strategic focus is brain cancer, led by Professor Colin Watts. Working in collaboration with the CRUK Clinical Trials Unit, Professor Watts has devised and developed the newly-launched Tessa Jowell Brain Matrix. This highly-innovative platform seeks to accelerate the development of stratified brain tumour trials, an area of significant unmet need. It will be delivered at ten centres across the UK, the majority of which are ECMCs.
The development of innovative immunotherapeutic strategies is another key strength of our centre, informed by Birmingham-led discovery science. Notable recent studies include PEPS2, led by Professor Gary Middleton, whose outcomes support the adoption of Pembrolizumab into standard of care guidelines for performance status 2 non small cell lung cancer patients.
We are also a leading centre developing experimental haematology studies, and are the hub of the Trials Acceleration Programme, a national network of 12 clinical centres, which has recruited more than 1000 patients to 20 prospective clinical trials, since its launch in 2012.
November 2020 sees the launch of the Bladder Cancer Centre, led by Birmingham’s Dr Rik Bryan, working in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Cardiff and Manchester. The Bladder Cancer Translational Research Consortium, the Centre’s first programme, is an international collaboration for translational research into high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is one of the largest teaching hospital trusts in England, serving a regional population of 2.9 million people, alongside a national and international population. The Trust's 20,000 members of staff see and treat more than 2.2 million people every year. The Trust is home to some of the country’s leading clinical research institutions, and is dedicated to developing and implementing groundbreaking treatments, technologies and techniques.
Our location
Birmingham, West Midlands. We have excellent rail links (Birmingham New Street station, with local services from there to University station), and are at the hub of the UK's motorway network. We are also close to Birmingham International Airport (driving time of approximately 30 minutes).
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