Tag Archives: cancer research

Charity & CSR, Construction News, News

Covers employee braves the shave and raises over £7,500 for charity following her own cancer diagnosis

An employee from Covers Timber & Builders Merchants in Chichester has raised over £7,500 for Cancer Research UK, following her own breast cancer diagnosis in March of this year.

Gina Trusler, Administration Manager at Covers head office in Chichester, underwent a mastectomy earlier this year and took the decision to shave off her hair before losing it due to chemotherapy treatment. After being contacted by a friend who said she was going to ‘brave the shave’ by also shaving her own hair, Gina set up the Bald Babes for Breast Cancer fundraising initiative, which has so far raised £7,532.

Gina commented:

“Being open about my diagnosis and sharing my own story has enabled others going through cancer to contact me, including some of my lovely friends. Offering others help and support whilst they are going through their own journey and fundraising for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research has helped me feel like I am giving something back. The support I have around me is overwhelming.”

Cancer Research UK is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2022, although its history dates back 120 years under various names and the merging of organisations. The charity’s main aim is to progress towards a world where everybody can lead longer and better lives, free from the fear of cancer. Cancer Research UK receives no government funding, so it relies on a network of supporters like Gina to fundraise and help it invest in and undertake research.

Sarah Verity from Cancer Research UK added:

“The fantastic amount of money that Gina has raised so far, including gift aid, could cover the cost of running one of our research groups at the Cambridge Institute for a day.

“The Cambridge Institute is home to 16 research groups and brings together the leading scientists, doctors and nurses across the city to push forward improvements in diagnosis and treatment. In particular, the Cambridge Institute focuses on breast, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, oesophageal, blood and prostate cancer. As Gina’s fundraising is for breast cancer research, the donation will likely go to one of our current research groups.”

Henry Green, Managing Director of Covers, said:

“We’re all so proud of Gina for not only the amazing amount of money she has raised for such a fantastic charity, but also the strength and positivity she has shown during her treatment. As part of Covers funding scheme which we launched in 2019, we have pledged £1,000 to Bald Babes for Breast Cancer to show our support.”

Donations can be made to Gina’s Bald Babes for Breast Cancer fundraising campaign by visiting https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/gina-g-and-the-bc.

Charity & CSR, Healthcare, News

Cancer Research Horizons renews partnership with Edinburgh University entrepreneur incubator programme

Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research organisation is renewing its partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s flagship Venture Builder Incubator which supports the commercialisation of data-driven PhD research.

Cancer Research Horizons, through its Entrepreneurial Programmes, will sponsor ten places for cancer-related research projects from across the UK to take part on this 16-week programme which aims to drive academic entrepreneurship by supporting PhD students and early career researchers to develop their business ideas, build their skills and secure funding.

In 2021, the first year of the Cancer Research Horizons collaboration, eight companies operating in the field of cancer were selected as start-ups for the incubator.

For the second year running, Cancer Research Horizons’ continued support for PhD students and researchers will play an important role in accelerating the commercialisation of ideas aimed at conquering cancer.

Laura Bernal, Venture Builder Incubator Programme Manager, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Cancer Research Horizons again this year. Our Incubator programme is designed to help fledgling entrepreneurs across all sectors of business build their skills and take their businesses to the next level and through continuing to build our relationship with the brilliant team at Cancer Research Horizons, we can ensure that we are supporting the commercialisation of vital research across 10 cancer-related projects this year.”

The Venture Builder Incubator, delivered by the Bayes Centre, the University of Edinburgh’s world-leading innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, on behalf of the University’s five Data-Driven Innovation Hubs and Edinburgh Innovations, the commercialisation service of the University, will start later this year and builds on the success of the previous cohorts which have seen considerable success, attracting £1.8m in funding in the last 12 months.

Previous oncology-related ventures focused on developing early diagnosis tools and less invasive testing to enable improved outcomes for people affected by cancer. They included: OncoAssign, a precision medicine startup integrating AI and onco-diagnostics to deliver accurate treatment prediction; 10zyme, a start-up devising a simple method of detecting cancers through urine or saliva samples; ForceBiology, developers of a versatile, more accurate and cost-effective high throughput drug-screening platform for cancer and Therapevo, a screening platform striving to fill the gap between research and the medical testing of new therapeutic strategies.

Commenting on her experience as a participant in last year’s cohort, Estefania Esposito, Co-founder of Therapevo, said: “Being introduced to a network of Venture Builder cohorts past and present was invaluable. They all had different backgrounds, and even when they had similar backgrounds, they all added something: an experience, an idea or an opinion.”

Dr Alessia Errico, Associate Director of Search and Evaluation, and Entrepreneurial Programmes Lead at Cancer Research Horizon said: “We want to inspire the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs in the field of cancer research as well as inspiring cultural change within the industry, so working alongside Edinburgh University and theirData Driven Innovation programme provides us with the perfect platform to do this.

“Supporting entrepreneurs on the journey from an ideation to venture creation is one of the most important things that we can do, so we are excited about what this next year will bring.”

The Venture Builder Incubator is designed to help fledgling entrepreneurs across all sectors build their skills and take their businesses to the next level.  Start-ups are chosen after an application process which is open to PhD students, early career researchers and academic staff from the University of Edinburgh or Heriot-Watt University, as well as early career researchers focused on cancer-related projects from across the UK.

Each startup is provided with £2,000 as well as business support through a series of workshops, networking events, mentoring, peer-to-peer learnings and access to the University of Edinburgh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and its data expertise.

Applications have now opened for the Venture Builder Incubator 3.0. For more information visit https://edinburghdde.com/dde-programmes/venture-builder-incubator-2 The early bird deadline for applications is Friday 22nd July and those entering before this date are guaranteed application feedback and the chance to resubmit their proposal and an invitation to a Bayes Centre Community Event. The final deadline for applications is Friday 9 September.

Construction, Construction News, News

MC Construction wins corporate supporter of the year award from cancer research charity

Salford-based MC Construction has been honoured for its fundraising efforts in aid of North West Cancer Research.

The company won the charity’s Corporate Supporter award at a gala dinner and ceremony held at the Isla Gladstone Conservatory in Liverpool.

North West Cancer Research is an independent charity dedicated to tackling cancer across the north west and North Wales. Its team aims to tackle the causes of the disease and prevent it, to improve the care of those who are diagnosed with it and, ultimately, to find a cure.

Staff at MC Construction voted for North West Cancer Research as the firm’s charity of the year for 2021, which was the company’s 50th anniversary year.

They undertook a variety of fundraising activities, including a skydive, the National Three Peaks Challenge, the Great Manchester Run, Tough Mudder, the company’s annual Golden Trowel golf tournament, raffles and a Bake-Off.

The company smashed its target of £10,000 to raise a total of £11,169. The money is being used to fund a year’s laboratory costs for research into early detection of prostate cancer, the most prevalent form of male cancer in the region.

In addition, MC Construction undertook an extensive campaign to raise awareness among staff, their families and friends and the company’s supply chain. This included the distribution of leaflets and posters at its offices and site cabins, and social media postings on healthy living tips and early warning signs.

Alastair Richards, chief executive of North West Cancer Research, said: “MC Construction chose to support the charity to mark its golden jubilee and the entire workforce got behind the fundraising with a great variety of events throughout the year.

“Not content with smashing its target, the company set about raising awareness of cancer prevention among its staff and clients, making it a very worthy winner of the North West Cancer Research Corporate Supporter Award 2022.”

MC Construction, which employs more than 60 people, undertakes building projects throughout the north west with a focus on the commercial, education, heritage, hospitality, industrial, local authority, social housing and healthcare sectors.

The company was founded in 1971 by Charlie Lowe and John Purcell. John’s sons Mike and Chris and Charlie’s sons David and Ian Lowe are currently serving as directors.

David, who is MC Construction’s managing director, said: “North West Cancer Research raises vital funds for painstaking research which saves lives, and we were proud to support the charity in our golden jubilee year.

“It’s a local charity which is close to the hearts of everyone in the business, and the whole team got behind our fundraising efforts from day one.

“Thanks to their tremendous efforts we smashed our fundraising target and the money is funding laboratory research at the University of Liverpool which will hopefully make a huge difference in years to come.

“Most cases of prostate cancer are discovered too late, mainly because men are too afraid or embarrassed to go for a check-up. The lab project hopes to discover ways to improve detection rates through urine samples.

“We wish the research team every success, and we are thrilled that our efforts to support them have been recognised with this award.”