Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence

We're working with Brain Tumour Research to find treatments and a cure for low-grade brain tumours
Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence

Brain Tumour Research is an official charity partner of University of Plymouth. We're one of only four universities in the UK working with the charity to improve the treatment and outcomes of brain tumours. 

  • brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer
  • there are over 120 different types of brain tumour
  • it is estimated that around 16,000 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour
  • less than 20 per cent of brain tumour patients survive beyond 5 years of their diagnosis
  • 10 people a day die of a brain tumour


Critically underfunded research

These statistics are harsh, whilst the causes of brain tumours are not understood. Less than one per cent are preventable. Brain tumour research is woefully underfunded, receiving just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research. This means a critical lack of researchers to investigate the condition and more effective treatments. At this rate, it could take another 100 years to find a cure.

April Watkins, a University of Plymouth graduate, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in her first year of study. Read more about her story.

Forging partnerships to accelerate research

In 2014, and following thorough International Peer Review, University of Plymouth successfully became one of only four Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence in the UK.

The charity is partnering with leading scientists at key universities around the UK to establish, retain, and grow 'world-class' research teams to accelerate progress towards finding a cure.

Building on our strengths

As a leading neuroscientist investing low-grade brain tumours, the work of Professor Oliver Hanemann is having a profound impact on the potential for effective drug therapies for brain tumours. Currently, there is no cure.

A unique strength of Oliver's work is 'bench-to-bedside' translational research. The focus is to identify and understand the mechanism underlying the development of brain tumours, and explore ways to halt or reverse that mechanism.

Professor Hanemann discusses his research in this video.


We need your support

It costs £2,740 per day, or £1 million a year to fund our brain tumour research. 

Join us in the fight to raise awareness and vital funds by visiting our how-to-give pages and helping further world-leading research in this ‘last battleground against cancer’.

We celebrate and recognise each day of research funded by our supporters, and another step towards finding a cure by placing a tile on our Wall of Hope.

James Greeancre of Plymouth Argyle recently placed a tile after the club raised £2,740 through match day collections, social media and engagement from their players and fans.

How you can support

The Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine (ITSMed)

The Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence sits within the headquarters of ITSMed, which brings together scientists, clinicians and expertise from across the spectrum of scientific discovery, medical research and health technology, to conduct world-class laboratory and clinical research.

Within ITSMed, we focus of three core areas of research: