Professor Caroline Dive, Lead of the Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology Group (CEP), has been awarded the 2012 Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier International Prize in recognition of her pioneering studies in the identification of new serum based biomarkers and for the development of non-invasive procedures in the early diagnosis and management of cancer. The Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier International Prize is one of the world’s leading scientific awards and includes a prize of €150,000. It is awarded every three years to an internationally renowned scientist and their team for making a significant contribution to biomedical discoveries that lead to therapeutic development. This year, the award recognises scientific and medical advances in the field of cancer research.

Caroline’s group focuses on circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and the evaluation of their clinical utility as a source of biomarkers to aid patient treatment. These markers can be used to screen and diagnose patients and importantly to monitor response to treatment in a non-invasive manner without having to perform a tumour biopsy. The overall aim of the group is to work towards developing a personalised approach to medicine where patients get the treatment tailored to their specific cancer characteristics. Caroline was formally announced as the laureate of this Prize at the prestigious Singer-Polignac Foundation in Paris on 28 November 2012. When receiving the award, Caroline said: "I am truly honoured to receive the 2012 Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize. The award will support our translational cancer research into specific markers of circulating cancer cells and also the group’s work in clinical trials to monitor disease and response to novel drugs.” Caroline further stated: "The equipment required to analyse CTCs and understand their biology calls for huge investment. The Prize will be a very welcome boost to our funds."

The prize money will fund cutting-edge equipment for the purification of CTCs, increasing the number of trials the team can conduct and helping them to identify and characterise new molecular markers.