A blood cancer researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) has been awarded £10,000 from global life sciences giant Azenta.

Glen Watt, an Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) funded PhD student in Dr Mark Williams Research Group in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, has won the company’s Precision Antibody Discovery Oncology Grant to help fund his PhD project.

Glen’s PhD project is focused on developing a novel highly-effective multi-targeting therapeutic antibody for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma (MM).

MM is the second most common blood cancer worldwide, originating from the uncontrolled rapid increase of malignant/cancerous immune cells, known as B-cells, within the bone marrow.

Despite anti-myeloma drugs being used to kill as many myeloma cells as possible to combat MM, the disease will return in most MM patients and lead to death because these therapies are non-specific, toxic and do not halt disease progression.

The clinically more effective treatments, such as therapeutic antibodies, which are used when other therapies do not work, are susceptible to therapy resistance which is why Dr Mark Williams and his team are developing novel multi-targeting therapeutic antibodies to overcome drug resistance and improve clinical outcomes in Myeloma patients.

The new funding will give Glen access to bespoke state-of-the-art genomics/sequencing services, which will help him optimise the design of the multi-targeting antibody and enhance the preclinical efficacy of the antibody, with a view to taking this antibody into clinical trials within the next five to 10 years.

Glen said:

“Being awarded the Precision Antibody Discovery Oncology Grant is a great privilege for me and the research group. With this grant we are hoping to further our work into producing a novel monoclonal antibody for Multiple Myeloma. I’d like to thank Azenta for awarding this grant to me.”

His PhD supervisor and Lecturer in Cancer Biology, Dr Mark Williams, said: 

“I am very proud of Glen’s most recent achievement, and for Glen to be competitively awarded this grant, at such an early stage of his research career is outstanding, and will provide Glen with key support for his PhD studies and in his mission to generate a novel therapeutic antibody for the treatment of Myeloma.”

Azenta said Glen’s application stood out among a competitive pool of applicants due to its “innovative approach, scientific merit, and potential impact on the field”.

Dr Mark Williams’ Research Group is part of the Molecular Mechanisms of Long-Term Conditions Research Group in the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), focusing on translational research, from identification of molecular targets to therapeutic applications.

Dr David Welsh, Molecular Mechanisms of Long-Term Conditions Research Group Lead, said: 

“This is a fantastic achievement for Glen. To stand out in such a competitive area of research speaks to the quality of his application and the backing and support of his supervisor, Dr Mark Williams. GCU has an excellent research culture and we will fully support Glen to make the most of this prestigious award.”

Dr Mary Doherty, Head of Skills at IBioIC, said: 

“On behalf of the IBioIC Skills Team, I would like to congratulate Glen on his recent award from Azenta to develop precision antibodies. Therapeutic antibodies are at the forefront of the new armoury for fighting disease and ameliorating disease-derived symptoms, that can impact quality and length of life.

“We are delighted that the PhD project, funded by IBioIC, has allowed Glen to develop his technology and be awarded this prestigious grant. We look forward to hearing the outcome of this further research.”