A GLASGOW cancer survivor has donated £7000 to a city university to help boost life-saving research into the disease.

Eileen Hogg, 64, who set up White Feather Charitable Aid during her treatment for stage three breast cancer in 2013, said the work being done at Glasgow Caledonian University is “excellent”.

The money will be used to help find new, targeted treatments for blood cancers such as Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) and Multiple Myeloma (MM).

Eileen, who lives on the Southside, met blood cancer researcher Dr Mark Williams through his lawyer wife Lindsay’s late grandfather William Downie and mum Ann Gaughan.

William and Ann had donated to Eileen’s charity through events at the Wellcroft Bowling Club in Glasgow when William was club president.

Eileen said she was was “blown away” by Dr Williams’ "passion, commitment and determination" to find new blood cancer treatments.

Glasgow Times: Eileen with Dr Mark WilliansEileen with Dr Mark Willians (Image: Mark Gibson/Glasgow Caledonian University)

She held two fundraising events in 2023 to help support the purchase of crucial lab supplies, such as reagents for carrying out research studies using advanced cell culture and flow cytometry.

She handed over the cheque to Dr William’s research group during a visit to the university’s biological and biomedical science labs in the school of health and life sciences.

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So far, Eileen and her team of two at the charity - her daughter Laura Hogg and friend Cathie Reilly - have donated more than £100,000 to help improve the lives of cancer patients.

Eileen said: “The great thing about donating to Mark and his research group is that I know exactly where the funds are going and who is going to benefit from it.

“This is all very close to my heart as I’m a cancer survivor and I have close friends who have suffered from blood cancers.”

She added: “Mark is so passionate and committed to his research he makes you want to help. I think the research going on at the university is fantastic. Glasgow Caledonian University is an excellent institution that really looks after its students and Mark is helping to support, nurture and promote researchers of the future.

“I wish we could have raised more funds but we will do something further down the line for sure. Hopefully this story will encourage others to donate to this great cause.”

Dr Williams, lecturer in cancer biology and a research group leader in the ReaCH Molecular Mechanisms of Long-term Conditions, said: “I cannot thank Eileen enough for her incredible generosity.

“She is an amazing woman and a cancer survivor who has gone above and beyond to raise these funds for my lab’s research. I’m thrilled that this local charity really values the work that we do here at Glasgow Caledonian University.”

According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 2600 AML deaths and 3100 MM deaths in the UK every year.

Dr Williams is focusing on macrophage-driven therapy resistance. Macrophages are large white blood cells that are an integral part of the immune system. Their job is to locate and destroy disease-causing organisms, and also to kill cancer cells. However, macrophages can actually be re-educated by cancer cells to become cancer-supporting and drive therapy resistance.

Dr Williams works closely with world-leading local and international AML and MM experts, in particular Dr Monica Guzman, who is based at Weill Cornell University in New York.

The Glasgow team has received hands-on-training in Dr Guzman’s  Lab in cutting-edge techniques such as the advanced culture of primary cells from AML patients, techniques that are now established in Dr Williams’ lab.