Dr Amanda Swain is Head of the Tumour Profiling Unit at the ICR, providing access to state-of-the-art sequencing technologies and unrivalled expertise in the molecular characterisation of tumours. Staff at the unit support researchers to accelerate progress towards precision therapies.

The team applies a range of cutting-edge techniques to genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic analysis. They have access to the very latest next-generation genome sequencing technology – bringing opportunities for ultra-high-throughput sequencing of samples.

They collaborate with scientists working at the ICR and elsewhere to provide a high-quality tumour profiling service, enabling researchers to build an unprecedented level of understanding about which genetic alterations are important in driving cancer and its evolution.

The team can extract information from even the tiniest amounts of material, including tumour biopsies and circulating tumour DNA from patients taking part in clinical trials. It has analysed samples from cancers including breast, ovarian, prostate, gastric, bowel, renal, lung, salivary gland, glioblastoma and leukaemia, and can analyse thousands of samples per year.