Abingdon-based charity, Against Breast Cancer, has celebrated the launch of a series of Research Fellowships at Oriel College, Oxford.

The fellowships provide research support for some of the country’s leading scientists and clinicians performing breast cancer research at the University of Oxford.

The provost of Oriel, Neil Mendoza hosted a celebratory evening following the appointment of the first two fellows, Dr Simon Lord and Dr Andrew Blackford.

Speaking at the event he said the college was 'delighted' to welcome the new Against Breast Cancer Research Fellows into the academic community.

The event was attended by supporters of the charity, scientists from both Oxford and Southampton, alumni of the college and local dignitaries.

Dr Andrew Blackford is a molecular biologist, with the charity supporting his work to find out why women with faulty BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are very heavily predisposed to breast cancer.

While Dr Lord, a Senior Clinical Researcher in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics, is running a research programme studying tumour cells grown directly from patient samples to characterise the behaviour of breast cancers that arise in patients with obesity and diabetes.

The charity says the Against Breast Cancer Research Fellowship will be instrumental in supporting this work with a view to identifying promising drug targets to assess in future clinical trials.

More information about Against Breast Cancer can be found at www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk and you can text PINK 245 to 70070 to give £5.