Nala Sivarajasingham is pictured (front) with Dr John Greenman and Dr Lynn Cawkwell, a Lecturer in Oncology, who jointly supervise Nala's laboratory studies.

Nala Sivarajasingham, this year's recipient of the Henry Chatterton Cancer Research Scholarship, says she will be continuing the work carried out by last year's inaugural recipient, Richard Baker.

Nala's MD project concentrates on colorectal cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK.

"Previous studies by other units and our unit have shown involvement of genes in colon cancer and a few such genes have been identified. The aim in our laboratory is to continue previous work and to identify more of these genes," she said.

"Richard Baker has studied the involvement of certain genetic regions of the human genome in colon cancer. My aim is to continue with this study and to identify genetic regions involved in the spread, or metastasis, of colon cancer. The plan is to submit this work as an MD thesis. A research MD is a well-recognised and highly-desirable qualification for progress in a surgical career."

"The University of Hull has a well-established international reputation in the field of academic surgery, particularly in the area of cancer research. The Chatterton award will allow the work to continue and contribute to the goal of better understanding cancer at the genetic level," she added.

Dr John Greenman, Senior Lecturer in Tumour Immunology at the University, said:
"Nala Sivarajasingham is one of only a relatively small number of female surgeons in training, and the award highlights the potential we see in her."


The Henry Chatterton Memorial Trust was set up by the Health Scheme Charitable Trust to honour Mr Chatterton, who was a Director of the Health Scheme for many years.