Groundbreaking research on track thanks to Society funding

Updated: 28 Jan 2025

The Centre for Cancer Immunology, current beneficiaries of the Society’s HA Andrews Memorial Fund, has provided an update on how the money is being put to use following the delivery of the second instalment.

Nur’s first year

The Centre, based at the University of Southampton, was chosen as the recipient of the £100,000 grant, split over three years, in 2022.

The money is sponsoring the PhD studies of Nur Zainal, who is looking into a specific gene which it is believed can be manipulated to target cancer cells in a new vaccine.

The first year of Nur’s studies has been preparing her for the execution of her PhD project over the next three years. She has been learning appropriate techniques, skills and procedures, as well as being introduced to theories and connecting with relevant research groups.

Nur delivering an update at the Society's annual conference in May 2023

Nur, who travelled to the UK from Malaysia with her family to undertake the PhD, said: “I believe the invaluable experiences and knowledge I have acquired over the past year have equipped me to be a more productive and capable student. I am highly motivated to engage in impactful research and make meaningful contributions to the field.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Oddfellows for their support in making my studies possible.”

On the right path

As well as preparing for what’s to come, some of Nur’s work on 3D cell culture – growing cancer cells in a way that more closely resembles the environment they experience in our bodies than traditional 2D cell culture – is included in a manuscript which is being prepared to be submitted for publication in a major international journal, for which she will be listed as a co-author.

Dr Tim Fenton, Associate Professor in Cancer Biology, said: “It has been my pleasure to be Nur’s academic supervisor over the last year.

“She has excelled during her first year and is now embedded within my group for her PhD project, in which she will build on the work she conducted in my lab with her co-supervisor, Professor Edd James, during year one to further our understanding of the molecular flags that our immune system uses to identify and attack cancer cells.”

The future of cancer treatment

Dr Fenton continued: “We hope that Nur’s studies will lead to improvements in the design of cancer vaccines, which is a key theme in the work being undertaken at the Centre for Cancer Immunology here in Southampton.

Associate Professor in Cancer Biology, Dr Tim Fenton

“The announcement in July 2023 of NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, a commitment from the UK government and BioNTech – the company behind one of the two major Covid-19 RNA vaccines – to run 10,000 cancer vaccine trials by 2030, reflects the wider strategic importance of Nur’s research topic and its potential to deliver transformational outcomes for cancer patients.”

HA Andrews Memorial Fund

Named after Barrister and former Oddfellows Secretary Herbert Arthur Andrews, the Fund was set up in 1971 and provides financial support over a two or three year period to a UK project or organisation involved in, or conducting, medical research.

HA Andrews played a pivotal role in the government’s formation of the National Insurance Scheme and was honoured with an OBE in 1946 by King George VI for services to his country.

The research the Fund supports must focus on improving Society’s understanding, diagnosis, or cures for diseases, mental and physical disorders, or any other conditions which adversely affect the quality of human life.

Under HA Andrews' name, £1,214,000 has been handed over to medical research projects to date, which is all thanks to the generosity of individuals and our branches.

Making a donation to the Fund

The Fund was originally set up courtesy of an initial donation from HA Andrews' estate.

If you’d like to make a donation to the Fund and help realise future medical research projects, you can send cheques, made payable to 'The Oddfellows', to the HA Andrews Memorial Fund c/o The Oddfellows, Oddfellows House, 184-186 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB.

We are thankful for any and all support given. Learn more about the HA Andrews Memorial Fund.