The University of Nottingham has marked the official unveiling of a new research centre bringing together leading scientists and clinicians to develop innovative new approaches to diagnosing and treating ovarian cancer.
The Naaz Coker Ovarian Cancer Research Centre (NOVARC), which is based at the university's Biodiscovery Institute on University Park Campus, was named in honour of Nottingham alumnus Farid Suleman's sister, who died from ovarian cancer in 2015.
He and his family have made a significant financial contribution to support the establishment of the centre in her honour and attended an event yesterday (Monday 8 July) to see some of the research taking place and to meet the scientists working there.
Naaz spent two decades working in the NHS and held many leadership roles, ranging from Pharmaceutical and Clinical Director to General Manager of an acute hospital in London.
She dedicated more than 45 years of her life to helping others, working in the public and voluntary sectors. She was born in Tanzania and came to the UK to pursue her education and career. A successful and intelligent leader, she became Chair of St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as a trustee of The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, C3 Collaborating for Health and the Clore Social Leadership Programme.
Mr Farid Suleman LLD, said: "I want to express my family's heartfelt gratitude to the University of Nottingham for the honour of naming the Ovarian Cancer Centre after my sister, Naaz Coker. My sister was a remarkable woman. Throughout her life she championed justice, equity, and service – through her leadership in the NHS, Shelter, the British Refugee Council and beyond. To see her name intertwined with the pursuit of healing, with medical advancement and with hope, is worthy of the woman she was. It represents a continuation of her story into lives touched by ovarian cancer.
"I want to especially thank Professor Madhusudan whose leadership and pioneering work in oncology are nothing short of extraordinary. His commitment to this work and to the women and families who depend on it, is deeply inspiring. We are truly honoured to partner with you."
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK and the US and the fifth leading cause of death among women. Despite advances in surgery and chemotherapy, the overall outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer remains poor with over 4,000 patients – more than 50 per cent - dying from the condition each year in the UK.
NOVARC is trialling new approaches in treating ovarian cancer, including developing new agents that block DNA damage signalling and repair in ovarian tumours and expanding research into new therapies to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. It is also investigating issues that some patients have with developing resistance to certain drugs and therapies which otherwise can offer improved outcomes for the disease, including platinum-based chemotherapy and emerging precision medicines such as PARP inhibitors.
Srinivasan Madhusudan, Professor of Medical Oncology and Director of NOVARC, said: "We are delighted to have the Suleman family at NOVARC. Our ongoing drug discovery work will impact the lives of women with ovarian cancer. The Ovarian Cancer bioresource infrastructure and research will allow better understanding of why some patients become resistant to current therapies."
The centre brings together cancer scientists from the university's Centre for Cancer Sciences in the Biodiscovery Institute with clinicians at Nottingham University Hospital Gynaecological Oncology Surgical Centre (NUHGOC) and Nottingham University Hospital Cancer Centre (NUHCC).
It is a privilege and honour to welcome the Suleman family to the centre to see the transformational work taking place here, and we are extremely grateful for their ongoing support in bringing this life changing research to fruition. Their financial support is already making a tangible difference and new research avenues are being explored already, and we hope they will be able to see some of that research and to meet our researchers at this event. I am extremely proud that Nottingham can call itself a leader in ovarian cancer research and is just another example of how our experts are changing lives."
