Karim Malik, Professor of Molecular Oncology at Bristol, will study a new way that cancer cells can alter the production of proteins in order to help them grow unchecked.
While researchers know that cancer cells can have more of the messenger molecules that read the genetic code, which contains instructions for proteins which control cell behaviour. Professor Malik proposes that they also have changes to how these instructions are translated into proteins.
His project will focus on understanding how the translation of the genetic code into proteins is altered by molecules called tRNAs. These are a vital part of the translation process, bringing together the components needed to build each protein. Inhibition of cancer cell tRNAs may provide new cancer treatments in the future.