International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED)
The International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED) is a £50m partnership between Cancer Research UK, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, The University of Manchester, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University College London, Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and The University of Cambridge.
The Alliance exists to work on transformative ideas in early detection, collaborate with industry partners and accelerate patient benefit.
Our strategy
ACED has three broad strategic themes, with multidisciplinary expertise located across its member centres, uniquely positioning us to drive progress in the early detection of cancer.
Participation in the ACED Alliance extends our impact in early detection by bringing together an international network of researchers who can pursue new directions beyond anything achievable by a single institution. ACED has built a programme of rapid research funding that is responsive to the evolving questions in early detection, from pilot projects to large programmes, and is bringing in a new generation of scientists through training grants and education.
Dr Sadik Esener, CEDAR Director at OHSU
Meet our Alliance members
These partnerships allow us to accelerate research by uniting world leading centres of excellence in early detection and bringing together cutting-edge research, expertise and resources to tackle the biggest challenges at scale.
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK funds research seeking insights across all types of cancer and encourages multidisciplinary collaboration throughout the research community.
Member Centre Director: Catherine Elliott
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
For over 75 years, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has supported a range of cancer research, including basic science, clinical trials, population health studies, and community engagement. As the largest National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, we work alongside six other Harvard-affiliated institutions to train the next generation of doctors and scientists.
Member Centre Director: Tim Rebbeck
The University of Manchester
Manchester's expertise spans risk prediction, hereditary cancers and tissue models, population health, and molecular biology. They focus on cancer development from pre-cancerous cells to early stages and on approaches to tackling inequalities via novel approaches in community and primary care settings.
Member Centre Director: Robert Bristow
Director of Research: Emma Woodward
German Cancer Research Center
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany with research spanning the entire translational continuum. Prevention is a major strategic focus of DKFZ, with the National Cancer Prevention Center combining high-level prevention research, education and training, and outreach and policy advice.
Member Centre Director: Michael Baumann
University College London (UCL)
The combination of our computational and data infrastructure, deeply phenotyped cancer cohorts and UCL’s world class imaging science enable the Alliance to integrate imaging and non-imaging early detection approaches.
Member Centre Director: Mark Emberton
Directors of Research: Shonit Punwani and Aleksandra Gentry-Maharaj
Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU
The Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and The Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center's (CEDAR) mission is to detect and stop lethal cancers at the earliest stage. Our team of more than 180 researchers uses team science and this emphasis on collaboration has helped us gain international recognition for work in single-cell analysis, biofabrication, and proteomics.
Member Centre Director: Sadik Esener
Director of Research: Laura Heiser
University of Cambridge
Cambridge's multidisciplinary experts innovate in earlier cancer detection and intervention using deeply phenotyped clinical cohorts built up over many years. The ACED Clinic Cambridge has created a longitudinal bioresource of data and samples from pre-symptomatic individuals, and accelerated the translation of prediction and detection algorithms, assays and devices.
Member Centre Director: Rebecca Fitzgerald
Directors of Research: Amit Roshan and Nora Pashayan
Director of Training: Nora Pashayan
Education and training
ACED has a broad programme of unique learning opportunities including a multi-institutional PhD programme and fellowships for early career researchers, an annual Summer School, courses, seminars, virtual mini-lectures and a series of other accelerating initiatives.
Summer School
The ACED Summer School is aimed at PhD students, healthcare professionals and early career researchers of all stages. The last edition focused on the required steps from initial biomarker discovery to the validation, development and translation of early detection of cancer testing. Registration for upcoming events will open soon.
Risk: Learning to Share
Watch six lessons delivered by scientists working in epidemiology, risk prediction model development and validation, clinical trials, medical anthropology, and patient and public involvement. These sessions offer perspective on how risk is co-constructed and informs the different approaches to cancer early detection.
In the news
Getting a deeper understanding of immunology for early cancer detection
The emergence of liquid biopsies is a step forward for the future of cancer early detection, but what biomarkers should we be looking for? Evie Fitzsimons, a PhD student at the UCL Cancer Institute, says that part of the answer to this huge question could be in our immune system.
Expanding the early detection research community
Meet four inspiring ACED PhD students carrying out research that could transform how we diagnose cancer in the future.
Contact us
If you’re interested in hearing more about ACED, have a question about funding opportunities, or would like to discuss partnerships, we’d love to hear from you.