Brain Tumour Research
Internationally renowned Centre of Excellence for research into low-grade brain tumours

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, with 10 lives lost each day. This presents a stark picture for public health, particularly as there is very little understanding of what causes brain tumours and this area of research is critically underfunded – receiving only one per cent of the national spend on cancer research.
Our team of researchers, led by Professor Oliver Hanemann, works closely with the charity Brain Tumour Research as one of three UK universities with a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.
The Centre are each invested in advancing knowledge of brain tumours, building the wealth of expertise that is needed to find a cure.
Our team are leaders in the investigation of low-grade brain tumours, which are usually slow-growing and frequently affect children and young adults.
Such tumours can be just as devastating as malignant high-grade tumours. They can bring equally dangerous and debilitating effects to patients, by causing neurological conditions including loss of balance, weakness, cognitive problems, poor hearing, epilepsy, and personality changes. Eventually, almost all low-grade brain tumours progress to high-grade.
With close links to hospitals in Plymouth and Bristol, our work focuses on identifying and understanding the mechanisms that make a cell become cancerous and exploring ways in which to halt or reverse this process.
We are working to find new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for low-grade brain tumours, to test new drugs and to investigate how existing drugs could be re-purposed as therapies for brain tumours.
If you have an idea for a research project related to low-grade brain tumours, please get in touch with Professor C. Oliver Hanneman:
If you are a business or organisation, Enterprise Solutions will help you to navigate the University's internationally recognised expertise, facilities and business services. They will support with more information on how your business can benefit from connecting and collaborating with the University of Plymouth – both on Brain Tumour Research and beyond.
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An integrated platform for developing brain cancer diagnostic techniques
AiPBAND is a four-year, €3.7 million, pan-European, Horizon 2020, Marie Curie Innovative Training Network led by researchers at the University of Plymouth, designed to train the next generation of researchers in the early diagnosis of brain tumours.
The network comprises nine academic and three non-academic organisations, belonging to five EU member states and six partner organisations, with fields ranging from neuroscience, engineering and big data science to healthcare, clinical trials and economics. The initiative has four key objectives:
For further information contact Professor Genhua Pan