At the 2025 EACR Congress, Dr. Sasha-Gay Wright attended a talk by Professor David Wedge from the University of Manchester, and immediately recognised that his work in cancer genomics aligned closely with her own research focus on underrepresented populations.
After the session, she introduced herself. That conversation planted the seed for what would become a major international research partnership between the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and the University of Manchester.
“This collaboration is a direct result of networking and knowledge exchange at the EACR Congress, and it highlights the tangible impact that EACR facilitates within the cancer research community.“
From that initial exchange, the two researchers continued discussions and developed a joint research concept. The result was a successful application for a £466,703 Prostate Cancer Research Grant; funding that will support a multi-year study examining prostate cancer in Black men from Jamaica and the United Kingdom.
Sasha-Gay Wright’s research
Prostate cancer carries a disproportionately high burden in Caribbean populations, yet genomic data for these communities remains severely limited. This study aims to fill that gap directly by characterising genomic drivers, mutational signatures, and evolutionary trajectories of treatment-naïve prostate cancer in Black men. It will examine how these features relate to disease stage, environmental exposures, and diet. Using high-depth whole-genome sequencing and downstream bioinformatics analysis, the team will identify key driver mutations, androgen receptor pathway alterations, and tumour evolutionary patterns.
Designed as a multicentre observational study, approximately 200 participants will be recruited across UWI and the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), alongside collaborating NHS sites in the UK. Primary tumour tissue, matched blood samples, and detailed environmental and dietary data will all be collected.
For Dr. Wright, the funding has been transformative as it has enabled the expansion of her research programme into large-scale cancer genomics, strengthening the kind of international collaboration that this work demands.
More broadly, the project represents a meaningful step toward addressing health disparities in prostate cancer outcomes for men of African descent: a population significantly affected, yet historically underserved by genomic research.
Inspired by Sasha-Gay’s research trajectory?
The EACR annual congress offers a warm and inviting atmosphere of learning and collaboration, with top-tier speakers presenting the latest data across the spectrum of cancer research. Whether you’re looking for scientific insight or your next career step, the conversations at the EACR 2027 Congress may form the connection you have been looking for. Click here to find out more about the EACR 2027 Congress.
