UCLan researcher Riza teams up with world-leader in this area
A local researcher is taking her potentially life-saving cancer research to the USA for further development.
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) PhD student Riza Alker is two years into a three year research project that is looking into new way of using CAR T-cell therapy; a type of immunotherapy which enables the body’s T blood cells to be infected with a virus that allows them to specifically target cancerous cells when they are reintroduced to the body.
Currently, CAR-T therapy is only used to treat leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma but the Darwen student is working in collaboration with Kansas University Medical Centre (KUMC) to identify a novel treatment strategy that would expand its use to include other cancers such as brain tumours.
"During this first stage of my research I have worked to find suitable targets for the CAR-T therapy. The next step is to generate CAR-T cells specific to the identified target and test how effective and safe they are."
— UCLan PhD student Riza Alker
KUMC is considered a world-leader in this field and Riza will spend a year at the University further developing the research, having identified some promising targets for the therapy.
She said: “During this first stage of my research I have worked to find suitable targets for the CAR-T therapy. The next step is to generate CAR-T cells specific to the identified target and test how effective and safe they are, which will be done in Kansas.”
The 32-year-old began her PhD studies at UCLan in 2021 after completing an MSc Regenerative Medicine at Queen Mary University in London and studying for her undergraduate degree in biomedical science at UCLan from 2015 – 2018. Riza moved to Blackburn from the Philippines in 2010 with no formal qualifications but, in a very short space of time, studied at home to gain five GCSEs before completing a foundation degree and then heading to UCLan.
"The fact that my research may be able to help my husband in the future further motivates me to keep going."
— UCLan PhD student Riza Alker
“From a young age I’ve been passionate about science and I was keen to gain the qualifications I needed to go to university” she said. “I quickly developed an interest in immunology and have progressed down this route.”
Riza also has a personal reason for pursing this area of research as her husband Fredrick has myeloma and is himself trying new treatment after relapsing three times. She added: “The fact that my research may be able to help my husband in the future further motivates me to keep going.”
"Her [Riza's] work has great potential to improve people’s lives and I’m really looking forward to seeing the next stage of research with our US collaborators in Kansas.”"
— Dr Peter Abel, Senior lecturer from UCLan’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Dr Peter Abel, Senior lecturer from UCLan’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and Riza’s PhD supervisor, said: “We are very pleased and proud of the progress Riza has made with this important project. Her work has great potential to improve people’s lives and I’m really looking forward to seeing the next stage of research with our US collaborators in Kansas.”