Welcome to the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Oxford Branch

The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd (LICR) is a global non-profit organisation committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer though integrated laboratory and clinical discovery.

Founded in 1971 by the American businessman Daniel K. Ludwig, the core of the LICR is concentrated at ten research locations: two each in Australia, Sweden and the USA; and one each in Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland and the UK. The LICR engages leading scientists and clinicians in an integrated laboratory and clinical research effort to understand and confront the global challenge of cancer.

The Oxford Branch of the LICR was established in 2007, following the relocation of the LICR’s UK presence from London. The overarching focus of the Oxford Branch is to identify key molecular switches that drive cancer progression and cellular heterogeneity, with the aim of benefitting patients. Within cancers multiple sub-populations of cells can co-exist, each with differing biological properties. Some may exhibit features of differentiation and others proliferate, while other cells possess stem cell-like properties enabling them to initiate new tumours and provide a pool of therapeutically resistant cells. As a result, tumour cell heterogeneity is a major challenge: we need to understand its origins and the molecular switches that control it to develop more effective cancer therapies. Led by the Branch’s Director Professor Xin Lu, we aim to address this challenge through our research and the translation of our discoveries into the clinic.