Professor Karen Vousden CBE FRS FRSE FMedSci

The tumour suppressor p53 is believed to play a critical role in protecting us from cancer. Clear testimony of this is provided by the fact that more than half of human tumours carry mutations in the gene that encodes p53, a frequency of mutation that is not matched by any other known gene. Many current cancer therapies rely on p53 for their efficacy. Many of the novel therapeutic strategies that are being developed aim to restore p53 function to tumours. Much of what we know about p53 comes from the work of Karen Vousden. She uncovered the importance of p53 loss for the development of cervical carcinomas and linked this to a tumour virus that triggers this form of cancer. She also provided major insights into how p53 is able to suppress tumour development; not only can it stop the proliferation of cancer cells, but it can also cause them to suicide through the process of apoptosis. Since tumour cell apoptosis is the ideal end-point of a therapy, Professor Vousden has focused much of her attention on the molecular events involved. She identified a key gene that promotes apoptosis and is switched on by p53, as well as obtaining many detailed mechanistic insights. Some of Professor Vousden’s most important contributions have come from work revealing how p53 can be controlled. This has involved identifying the proteins that normally regulate p53 function within a cell and some of these proteins have themselves been implicated in carcinogenesis. Recently, she has used this knowledge to develop molecules that might be used as drugs to stabilize and activate p53. The potential benefits for cancer patients are enormous.