The Urology Foundation Innovation & Research Grant awarded to Mr Simon Baker

Congratulations to Dr Simon Baker, Kidney Research UK Intermediate Fellow from the Department of Biology & York Biomedical Research Institute, who has been awarded a grant by @theurologyfoundation part supported by @charlesreynoldsfoundation

This research seeks to establish bladder cancer as a preventable disease by acquiring evidence in a large cohort of patients that BK virus is a risk factor for the development of the disease.

As part of his Kidney Research UK fellowship, Dr. Baker has been actively engaging with patients and the public, primarily with renal transplant recipients who are at >3x greater risk of developing bladder cancer and frequently experience BK virus reactivations as a consequence of immunosuppression. 

Dr Baker's efforts have led to the creation of the first patient information leaflet on BK virus infections, which is set to be distributed nationwide through various patient and clinical organisations. The leaflet represents a vital resource for patients and is part of Dr Baker's role as co-chair in developing the inaugural British Transplantation Society Guidelines for managing BK virus infections in clinical settings.

Dr Baker's project aims to broaden patient and public involvement (PPI) to include a wider cancer audience. With support from Involvement@York, this will be achieved by reaching out to groups such as "Independent Cancer Patients' Voice."

The funded project, seeks to explore the evidence required to establish BK virus as a key risk factor for bladder cancer and in doing so revolutionise the approach to this disease by establishing most cases as preventable. The researchers will look for evidence of BK virus infection in blood samples from people who went on to develop bladder cancer in comparison with those who did not. The work is a big international collaboration between researchers at the University of York and the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study in Sweden.

The Charles Reynolds Foundation is proud to support the team’s efforts and looks forward to the contributions this research will bring to the field of #oncology and transplant medicine.