Submitted by Catherine Atkins on Tue, 01/09/2026 - 11:25
Last week saw the successful conclusion of the first Early Cancer Institute Summer Programme sponsored by Moderna.
Over the course of eight weeks the Early Cancer Institute hosted five master’s students from universities across the UK who undertook projects proposed and supervised by postdoctoral researchers in the Institute. These ranged from wet lab work exploring research approaches related to identifying risk of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia to computational work analysing large datasets to better understand the development of gastric cancers, to the use of state-of-the-art techniques to develop improved imaging of cancerous cells.
In the final week the students each gave a presentation describing their work, their achievements and lessons learned that they plan to take forward into their future careers. Many of these were what we all recognise as key lessons in science research including flexibility and troubleshooting when things didn't work as planned. Alongside their project work the students benefitted from a range of enrichment activities including a panel discussion led by colleagues at various career stages on how to apply for a PhD; a number of lectures and seminars with some inspiring speakers; a workshop on academic writing and, the highlight for most, a visit to the Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre at the Harwell Campus, in Oxfordshire.
Hardeep Jhutty, Director of UK R&D Strategic Operations at Moderna, commented: “It has been inspiring to see the enthusiasm and commitment these students have brought to the programme. We are delighted to have supported this Early Cancer Institute initiative that gives the next generation of cancer researchers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, explore new areas of research and see where a career in science could take them.”
Prof Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of the Early Cancer Institute said: “It has been a real pleasure to welcome this group of enthusiastic Master's Students from around the UK to the Early Cancer Institute and to give them an insight into the many different aspects of early cancer research. Hearing about their experiences – including the challenges they encountered and how they adapted to them – has been particularly rewarding. It is wonderful that so many are now considering PhD research in this field, and we wish them every success in the next stage of their careers. We are hugely grateful to Moderna for their generous support, which has made this programme possible.”