Plymouth supports Wear a Hat Day
Plymouth University, recently chosen by charity Brain Tumour Research to be its latest research Centre of Excellence, is going all out to support the charity’s Wear A Hat fundraising and awareness day - today.
Wear a Hat Day is charity Brain Tumour Research’s key awareness and fundraising day, and it is the UK’s premier brain tumour awareness event. All round the country thousands of people will be wearing hats and holding events to raise money for research into tackling this condition, which is the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.
Money raised for Brain Tumour Research in Plymouth and throughout the region will go to support research projects at Plymouth University. Plymouth is the leading centre in Europe for pioneering research into low-grade brain tumours occurring in teenagers and adults.
The partnership with Brain Tumour Research allows the Plymouth team to focus on bench-to-bedside translational research. By identifying and understanding the mechanism that makes a cell become cancerous, they are exploring ways in which to halt or reverse that mechanism.
The team has previously identified new therapeutic targets and drug candidates, using cell biology techniques and unique in vitro models for brain tumours. A key innovation is fast track: testing new drugs in human primary cell cultures leading to innovative phase 0 trials leading to adaptive phase II/III trials.
At present the only treatment options for people with such brain tumours are mainly invasive surgery or radiotherapy. By testing drugs in such a fast track way the team in Plymouth achieve the potential for making drug therapies available to patients both safely and faster.
The University have a number of awareness and fundraising events planned:
Researchers investigating brain tumours will be adding their favourite hat to their usual uniform of white lab coats and getting donations for doing so. Awareness stands and collecting boxes will be available across the main University campus and University alumni are being invited to enter a Facebook ‘selfie’ competition.
Also supporting the campaign, and doing selfies themselves, will be members of the Plymouth Raiders basketball team.
Local milliner and hat designer, Patricia Pentecost of Just Seven Hats and great supporter of Brain Tumour Research, will be joining the University’s fundraising efforts by running a stand in Drake Café on 28th March. Patricia will be donating 25 per cent of any hat sales to Brain Tumour Research.
As well as activities in Plymouth, in Exeter security and housekeeping staff at the city’s Guildhall Shopping Centre are raising money by wearing their favourite hats, and the centre’s popular Street Food Market is also joining in on the act with hat related food and competitions.
Professor Oliver Hanemann, who heads up research into low-grade brain tumours at Plymouth University, said: “We are very grateful to everyone at Plymouth University and further afield for helping us to raise funds and awareness within the region. It was a huge accolade for us to be chosen as a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence, and as well as continuing to spearhead developments in drug treatments for low-grade tumours were are also working with the charity to raise awareness of the condition and attract funding for our research projects. We hope that members of the public across the region will be happy to support brain tumour research taking place in their area.”
The Wear A Hat Day campaign has received wide acclaim and support from the millinery and hatter industry, with iconic designers Vivien Sheriff, Rachel Trevor-Morgan and Patron to the Charity Philip Treacy lending their unique hat designs to inspire limited edition designer brooches. Brain Tumour Research is also named as the official charity partner of the inaugural London Hat Week and continues as charity partner of the legendary Bridport Hat Festival for the third year running.
