Research Roadshow

Episode 1: The Illumina Slides

Dr David Jones at DKFZ in Germany shows us around his lab and details the amazing work he does with the Illumina slides to make advanced diagnoses for more effective treatments.

Welcome to my lab

Welcome to my lab

Who is David Jones?

Dr David Jones leads a team working in London and Germany to study brain tumours in children. He's recently married and loves skiing when not hard at work in the lab. He hopes that his work will change the lives of young people and their families across the world. The group works closely with a children's hospital in London and he is inspired every day by their strength and courage.

What we do

In this lab we investigate brain tumours in children. We are looking at how the tumors start, what makes them grow, and better ways to study them. We are studying 'low grade' tumours. These are less well-known than 'malignant tumours', but they can be very damaging to children's quality of life.

What we've achieved

We use DNA 'tags' to tell different types of tumour apart. When we look at the tumour under a microscope, different DNA 'tags' stick to specific areas like pieces of coloured cotton sticking to velcro. But the machine to do this is very expensive - a single microscope slide costs £1,100! We've found a new type of tumour and we hope we can treat it with drugs. We have also found out why some low grade tumours grow very slowly, and we are planning a clinical trial to test new drugs.

Research is just one other way your donation can make a difference

Your donation could help fund the following equipment Dr Jones uses for his research:

Pipet: £250
A tool used in the laboratory to measure and transport accurate volumes of liquid.
Gel Chamber: £530
A device that helps separate pieces of DNA that are different in length.
Vortex: £220
A device used in laboratories to mix small vials.
Eppendorf Tube Box: £4
A box to store small lab equipment.
DNA Quantification Device: £1100
A device used to measure the mutations of DNA in individual tumours.