The Evelyn Trust has a history of supporting brilliant young medical researchers via its Research Training Fellowship programme.

Dr Peter Bailey is a Respiratory Registrar at Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge - the UK’s largest specialist cardiothoracic hospital – and is a current Evelyn Trust Fellow. Peter is part way through his training in respiratory medicine, but has been drawn to an academic career, with the ultimate aim of becoming a ‘clinician scientist’ in the field of respiratory disease. For a career in research, however, Peter needs a PhD and more experience in a research lab environment. 

“I am very grateful for the Evelyn Trust as they have funded one year of my research project based at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. This has given me the chance to do in-depth research in cell biology and will enable me to go on to tackle a PhD in this field.

“I’ve also been lucky recently to be awarded three years’ funding from the Wellcome Trust to complete my PhD and I don’t think this would have been possible without the invaluable experience I’m currently gaining during this initial year of full-time research,” explains Peter.

Thousands of people each year are diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) or lung cancer – the third most prevalent type of cancer in the UK. Currently the mechanisms by which these diseases progress is poorly understood – we know that smoking can cause lung cancer, for example, but how exactly that works is still not clear. These diseases cause low oxygen levels and often a patient with COPD will die due to pressure on their heart caused by a lack of oxygen. Many types of cells cannot cope with low oxygen levels, but cancer cells still seem to be able to adapt, grow and survive - if we could understand how, this knowledge might hold a key to future treatments. Peter’s research this year has focussed on the regulation of proteins at the surface of cells and how they change when oxygen is scarce. This will provide a foundation for his PhD.

Both lung cancer and COPD are progressive diseases which are very difficult to treat and often shorten patient’s lives. Symptoms are relieved – for example, COPD patients are often given their own supply of oxygen - but patients’ quality of life is not enviable. Peter is excited about the potential of research into cell biology to improve patient outcomes significantly.

“We need to know how cancer cells hijack the adaptive response to low oxygen levels which allow them to grow rapidly in a densely-packed, low oxygen, environment. Once we have secured a thorough understanding of this process, we’ll be on track for a breakthrough in treatment of respiratory disease.”