Development of an assay to revolutionise childhood leukaemia research and diagnosis using ground-breaking sequencing technologies

The development of ground-breaking technologies to facilitate the introduction of a new era of whole genome sequencing will revolutionise childhood leukaemia research and diagnosis. Whole genome sequencing has identified many genomic abnormalities of clinical relevance in childhood leukaemia and cancers. Detection of these abnormalities is often difficult due to their complexity and highly inconsistent nature. As some of these abnormalities identify patients who are refractory to conventional chemotherapy, but show response to novel targeted therapies, or have a unique clinical outcome, their accurate detection is vital to guide the most appropriate therapy. Furthermore, ~10% of the human genome is unchartered due to its complex and repetitive DNA sequence, in which novel abnormalities of clinical relevance may reside. A new era of genomic sequencing has begun in which testing for all genomic abnormalities of clinical relevance can be performed in one simple test and unchartered regions of the genome can be explored for the first time. Here we will develop a specific technology imperative to the success of this new generation sequencing, which will improve our understanding of cancer development and identify patients that may benefit from modified treatment to improve their survival.

Grant Award – Kidscan Pump Priming Grant (2016)
Funding Award – £5,000
Funding Awarded To – Dr Sarra Ryan
Research Location – Newcastle University
Lead Researcher – Dr Sarra Ryan