Brampton College has welcomed the return of former pupil Benji Rosen, who spoke to students about his pioneering cancer research work.
The Jewish medic, who studied biology, chemistry, maths and German at the sixth-form college in Hendon, before leaving in 2012 to study Medicine at University College London, spent his third year at university analysing the effect of viruses on cancer cells.
He identified that many cancer cell do not produce a particular defence molecule, making them more susceptible to be killed by the measles virus. This insight may explain why measles virus kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, which would have major implications for the whole field of viral cancer therapy.
The discovery also led to Mr Rosen being invited to the 2015 Oncolytic Conference in Boston in June to present his findings.
