First UK FA Research Conference Held

Many thanks are to due to Dr Helen Walden of Cancer Research UK for organising the first UK FA Research Conference, held on May 24th.

A big thank you also to Cancer Research UK for funding the event. In supporting this event and in funding FA research, Cancer Research UK has shown its commitment to FA research as a means to furthering research into cancers in general.

The conference was attended by 25 researchers from the FA molecular/cell biologist community and also a representative from the FA gene therapy community, Prof Linda Lako, whose research Fanconi Hope is currently funding.

A representative from Fanconi Hope was kindly invited to attend and to speak briefly at the outset to explain the charity’s role in trying to bring together the UK FA research community and in expediting FA research.

It was very encouraging to see so many of the the researchers meeting for the first time and discussing ways of helping each other. It was also gratifying to realise that there were now in excess of 25 researchers from across the UK working in just this one area of FA research – molecular biology. When you add the researchers working in other aspects of FA research it proves there is a significant body of research now in the UK devoted to Fanconi Anaemia.

One of the conclusions from the event was that there was an appetite for further such events. Fanconi Hope fully supports this and intends to be actively involved in the organisation of future research conferences not only in the molecular biology field but in FA research more generally.

The programme of events can be downloaded here.


Prof Lako discussing her Gene TherapyResearch	Prof Neil McDonald and Dr Helen Walden in discussion during the coffee break	Dr Ambrose Cole discusses the FA Core Complex	Question Time