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About CRUK Scotland Institute

Find out what we do, how we do it and why we do what we do.

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History

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Organisation Governance

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Scientific Advisory Board

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Sources of Funding

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Life in Glasgow

Find out about living and working in Glasgow and Scotland.

Our Research

Explore the science at CRUK Scotland Institute. Our research groups, the people who lead them, and how we work.

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Research Groups

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Vision and Strategy

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Research Integrity

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Grant Support

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Sustainability

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Use of Animals

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Annual Reports

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AI and Computational Biology

Advanced Technologies

State-of-the-art facilities and specialist expertise supporting research across the Institute.

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Technologies overview

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Beatson Advanced Imaging Resource

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Translational Molecular Imaging

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Flow Cytometry

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Mass Spectrometry

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Molecular Technology

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Deep Phenotyping

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Histology Service

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Transgenic Models of Cancer

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Transgenic Technology

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Data Science and Data Management

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Bioinformatics and Data Science

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Translational Research Collaborations Unit

Operations

The teams and services that keep the Institute running and support our research.

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Finance

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Information Services

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People and Culture

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Research Management

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Support Operations

Partners

The networks and organisations we work with to accelerate cancer research.

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Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre

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CRC Stars

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MRC National Mouse Genetics Network

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CRUK SI-UoG-Indonesia PhD Programme

Careers & Study

Jobs, studentships and opportunities for students at every stage at our world-renowned cancer research institute.

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Careers & Study Overview

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Current Vacancies

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Studentships

PhD opportunities at the Institute
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Studentship Vacancies

Open studentships to apply for
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CRUK SI-UoG-Indonesia PhD Programme

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John Paul Career Award

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Internships

For undergraduate and masters students
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High School Students

Events

The Institute hosts a range of seminars and meetings bringing international cancer researchers to Glasgow.

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All Events

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Glasgow Cancer Seminar Series

Vision and Strategy

Our vision is a Scotland where the cancer burden is reduced for everyone.

Our mission is to deliver fundamental discoveries in cancer biology, accelerate clinical translation through multidisciplinary collaboration, and train the next generation of diverse cancer researchers.

Scientific Focus

We address three core challenges across the cancer continuum:

  • Early disease (how cancers start):
    Detect cancer earlier, identify drivers of poor prognosis, and develop preventative strategies.
  • Metabolism and energetic stress (how cancers grow):
    Identify therapeutic vulnerabilities linked to tumour energy demands, including in response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
  • Metastasis and microenvironment (how cancers spread):
    Understand and target disseminated disease, including the role of the immune system.

Approach

Our strategy is underpinned by advanced in vivo and in vitro/ex vivo models that faithfully reflect human disease (“disease positioning”), benchmarked against patient pathology and co-morbidities. Integration with cutting-edge technologies—including single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, metabolomics, multiplex imaging and computational biology—enables deep characterisation of tumour biology and alignment with human cohorts.
We are expanding to study cancer as a whole-body disease, incorporating host factors such as diet, age, obesity, and the microbiome.

Tumour Focus and Translation

We prioritise cancers of unmet need and high mortality (liver, pancreas, lung, colorectal) and those relevant to Scotland (mesothelioma). Liver and lung are also studied as key metastatic sites. Strong clinical partnerships through the CRUK Scotland Centre enable rapid translation into the clinic.

Partnerships and Growth

We will strengthen our position as a leading partner for models, imaging, and metabolic research, working with academia and industry. More information can be found on the Partner Tab. Key collaborations include:

  • OPTIMISTIC Cancer Grand Challenge (microbiome and whole-body cancer biology)
  • MRC National Mouse Genetics Network (model humanisation and phenotyping)
  • CRCSTARs
  • The Scotland Centre
  • Predict-MESO

The next five years

Strategic priorities

Seven priorities will shape our research, our facilities and the partnerships we build over the next five years.