Abstract

Prof. Philip Ingham, , Deputy Director, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore.



Translational research is the mantra of biomedical science in the 21st century: but is goal oriented research the best route to innovation or the most efficient way of generating clinically relevant knowledge? In the UK, which has produced the winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 4 out of the last 7 years, basic, curiosity driven research has traditionally been given high priority in biomedical research. Our work on Hedgehog signalling, funded largely by two medical research charities, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Wellcome Trust is a case in point. In twenty years, investigation of this unusual signalling pathway has taken us from the esoteric study of insect segmental patterning to Phase II clinical trials of an exciting new anti cancer therapy. Many interesting questions remain in the Hedgehog signalling field, some of which we are addressing here in IMCB.