Clinical Hub Aberystwyth
Your Health Matters
OSCAR: Omics Approaches to Urological Cancer Diagnosis
Welcome to the OSCAR study page
Current screening for prostate cancer (PCa) has a high level of over-diagnosis, resulting in many men needlessly having invasive tests and arduous unnecessary treatment. There is therefore a need to identify new biomarkers, based on innovative screening approaches.
Omics is a field showing increasing promise in the identification of biological markers indicating disease. Metabolomics allows a snapshot of metabolism to be obtained and may be considered the sum of all omic approaches as it integrates transcriptomic and translational regulatory mechanisms.
This research project is a collaboration between Aberystwyth University (AU) and health boards acorss the UK . The aim is to use a “big biology” ‘omic approach, to screen for novel metabolic changes in PCa patients, which can aid in both the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. These metabolites could be developed into point of care tests, e.g., based on lateral flow systems.
The OSCAR Strategy
We work with patient and volunteer samples (blood and urine) and use so called "omic" approaches to work out what is in the samples. We examine genes, proteins, biochemicals and microbes to see what is different in people who have prostate cancer compared to a range of other diseases.
Meet the Team
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Dr
Dr Tracy Richmond-Knight
Postdoctoral Researcher
Translational Medicine & Biomarker Discovery
Tracy is a postdoctoral researcher at Aberystwyth University specialising in translational medicine, with a focus on the discovery and development of non-invasive biomarkers for cancer diagnostics. She completed her PhD as part of the OSCAR study, identifying urinary biomarkers for prostate cancer, and now leads on the study’s translational pipeline — working to turn research findings into viable diagnostic tests. Tracy works closely with clinical and commercial partners to support validation studies, regulatory submissions, and test development.
PhD
Cameron Tait
Cameron has recently rejoined the team as a PhD student. He is keen to to work in a research/medical field focusing on human diseases, developing novel therapies, and tackling diseases that have previously had a high mortality rate. Upon completing a PhD in he aims to gain additional experience and knowledge as a post-doctoral researcher.
MRes
Cori Kite
Having recently joined the team as an MRes student studying Biosciences, Cori is eager to contribute to clinical research and development. It is with a particular interest in human health and disease that she desires to further the understanding of the field and contribute to the development of novel technologies/therapies. To continue from her Master's, she plans to proceed with a PhD.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Maelor Academic Unit of Medical & Surgical Sciences (MAUMSS)
MAUMSS is designed to support research within BCUHB and more widely to promote collaborative academic activity. MAUMSS is led by three clinical and academic consultants. It is staffed by an interdisciplinary team of academics, clinicians and scientists. It has several laboratories that are supported by technicians containing state-of-the-art molecular, analytical and diagnostic equipment.
Key workers
Research Officers and Nurses
OSCAR appreciates the contribution of heroic Research Officers and Nurses across various NHS institutions
Advisory Board
Patient and Public Involvement
You
The OSCAR team is indepted to the volunteers which are helping us improve prostate cancer detection and treatment.
Working with others around the work, we will beat it!
OSCAR Publications
Watch this space..there are exciting developments soon!