Hamburg – Berlin, 21 June 2021 the Mildred Scheel Lectureship Series
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Hamburg – Berlin, 21 June 2021 The Mildred Scheel Lectureship Series The Mildred Scheel Lectureship is a series of lectures by outstanding cancer researchers, which is intended to commemorate the remarkable commitment of the founder of the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), Dr. Mildred Scheel, and above all to inspire and encourage young scientists to pursue a career in cancer research. Prof. Dr. Karen Vousden: research field and vita/scientific career Karen Vousden is Cancer Research UK's Chief Scientist and a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute, where her work focuses on tumor suppressors. Following the discovery of p53 in the 1970s, Professor Karen Vousden was crucially involved in uncovering how p53 functions and how it was controlled, including the identification of MDM2. Since then, Professor Vousden and her team are studying how p53 functions in the healthy body to stop tumors forming, and how these protective effects are lost in cancer. She is also leading investigations looking into how different faulty versions of p53 help to drive cancer, and exploring whether defects in p53 functions leave weaknesses in cancer cells that could be exploited to destroy them. Professor Vousden’s work on understanding this important tumor suppressor will be vital in helping develop new treatment approaches. As changes in p53 are found in almost all cancers, these treatments could improve survival in many different cancer types. Apart from her scientific achievements, Prof. Vousden looks back on a formidable career as a female researcher in oncology. She has been awarded numerous honors and is elected member of some of the most influential scientific associations worldwide. .