Professor Dan Longley is the Centre Director of the Johnston Cancer Research Centre

Can you tell us a little about your role?

I am currently the Director of the Johnston Cancer Research Centre, which is the only dedicated Cancer Research Centre on the island of Ireland. The Centre is named after its founder, Patrick G. (Paddy) Johnston, who was my mentor and, of course, went on to become Vice-Chancellor of the University before his untimely death in 2017. It means a lot to me that I am helping to continue Paddy’s vision. The mission of the Centre is to improve outcomes for cancer patients through cutting-edge research and to train the next generation of scientists/clinicians. It’s my job to coordinate the research in the Centre, bringing researchers together to address important, clinically unmet needs in cancer.

We have forty Principal Investigators and approximately 300 staff and students. A quarter of our Principal Investigators (research-group leaders) are clinical academics who treat cancer patients at the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre (NICCC), which is situated close to JCRC at Belfast City Hospital. This is important because it ensures that we always keep the needs of patients at the forefront of our research.

Our work is increasingly multi-disciplinary in nature, and we work closely with researchers in our sister Centres in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences – the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine and the Centre for Public Health –  and more broadly with colleagues across the University: for example, the Schools of Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, Computing and Chemistry. We also have close connections with world-leading research groups in the UK, Ireland and beyond. Cancer research is complex and is very much a team game!

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How would you describe your research to someone outside your field?

In my role as Director of JCRC, I try to maximise our resources to identify new ways of treating cancer that will improve, not only patients’ outcomes, but also their quality of life. My own research is focused on understanding how cancer cells respond to current treatments – all too often, cancer cells fail to be killed by standard-of-care treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My research has identified key mechanisms which cancer cells use to evade being killed, and we have subsequently developed new ways to overcome these mechanisms, and so increase the effectiveness of current treatments.

What real-world impact does your research have?

Our work has a very obvious real-world impact! In the eighteen years since the Centre has been in existence, the outcomes for cancer patients in Northern Ireland have improved dramatically. Overall, 13% more cancer patients are now living beyond five years after their initial diagnosis, and the biggest increases in survival have been in the cancers in which we have the greatest expertise: colorectal (bowel), breast and prostate. This is no coincidence: it has been proven that patients have the best outcomes in regions where there is cutting-edge cancer research.

There are thousands of people alive today because of the work we have done in the JCRC and NICC. It is therefore vital that our research continues to be supported. The most effective way that individuals can support our research is through direct donations via our website – this ensures that every £1 (which becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid) goes to support life-saving cancer research at Queen’s.

What's the most fulfilling part of your job at Queen's?

There are two aspects to the job that are particularly fulfilling: (1) seeing our research make a real impact on cancer patients; and (2) training the next generation of cancer researchers.

Can you share a standout moment or experience that's stayed with you during your time at Queen's?

It is a personal moment: my inaugural lecture in 2018. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to tell my parents, wife and children, sisters, close friends and colleagues about my academic journey and my research. My only regret was that Paddy was not there – I still remember answering the phone to him when he broke the news to me about my promotion, with him saying, “Is that Professor Longley?”. So that’s two standout moments really.

About Dan

Outside of work, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

It may not look like it, but I like to run.  Slowly. I am also a keen rugby fan and football fan (Arsenal – this could be the season, although I’ve said that before!). I grew up surrounded by poetry and art and enjoy both, although I am neither a writer nor an artist myself. I remember showing my first scientific paper to my Dad, the poet Michael Longley. He said, “Your prose is rather dense”, which was still kinder than Paddy’s reaction to my first written offering to him: “Were you drunk when you wrote this?” In response to these constructive criticisms, I strive to make my scientific papers and presentations accessible, effective and enjoyable.