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Emma Allott, PhD, a research assistant professor in the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been awarded the Professor John Fitzpatrick Research Fellowship, a three-year grant award that funds an Irish scientist or clinician to undertake high quality research into prostate cancer.

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Emma H. Allott is a research assistant professor in the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Emma H. Allott, a native of Dublin, has been awarded more than $291,000 to investigate the role of cholesterol in prostate cancer through a unique transatlantic cancer research collaboration, according to a news release from the Irish Cancer Society.

She has been awarded the Professor John Fitzpatrick Research Fellowship, a three-year grant award established by the Irish Cancer Society, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“I am excited and honored to be selected as the first Professor John Fitzpatrick Research Fellow,” Allott said in a statement in the release. “This award provides a unique and valuable opportunity for me to work as part of a team of internationally-renowned prostate cancer researchers and clinicians to reduce the burden of prostate cancer in Ireland and worldwide.”

The award will fund research to further the understanding and treatment of prostate cancer, and will focus specifically on the role of cholesterol and fat metabolism in advanced prostate cancer.

The fellowship is named in memory of the late Professor John Fitzpatrick, the former head of research at the Irish Cancer Society.

In the next three years, Allott will investigate if high cholesterol levels impact survival rates in men with advanced prostate cancer. More specifically, she will investigate if reducing cholesterol levels has the potential to improve survival rates when combined with hormone treatment.

Current treatment options for men with advanced prostate cancer involve blocking hormones called androgens, which drive the development of the cancer. Cholesterol is a building block for these hormones, however, and there is now evidence to suggest that high cholesterol levels may help the tumour override this hormone-blocking action, allowing the cancer to grow and progress.

Through this research, Allott is hoping to identify tumor biomarkers linked with high cholesterol levels that may indicate how well prostate cancer patients will respond to hormone treatment. The study will also investigate the potential to improve prostate cancer survival rates by reducing cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, or through cholesterol-lowering medication.

In collaboration with experts from the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this study will involve analyzing the lifestyle and tumor characteristics of more than 1,000 Irish and American prostate cancer patients.

The fellowship, which is supported by Sanofi and Janssen, represents an investment of more than $291,000 in this unique transatlantic cancer research collaboration.

The announcement was made at the John Fitzpatrick Prostate Cancer Conference in the Aviva Stadium, where prostate cancer experts from across the globe gathered to share the latest research and advances in treatment and care.

“Dr. Allott is part of the next generation of prostate cancer research leaders, whose work will no doubt make a significant contribution to our knowledge and understanding of this challenging disease, which affects almost one in six men in Ireland and the US,” said Dr. Robert O’Connor, head of research at the Irish Cancer Society. “This unique transatlantic research fellowship will focus specifically on the role of cholesterol in advanced prostate cancer and explore the potential to improve outcomes for thousands of men on both sides of the Atlantic.”