International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED)
The University of Manchester is a part of the International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED). Launched in 2019 and successfully renewed in 2025, ACED is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, The University of Manchester, University College London (UCL), the Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU, the University of Cambridge, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and the German Cancer Research Center.
About ACED
Over the next five years, 2025-2030, the Alliance will invest £50m in funding to accelerate cutting-edge research in four major programmatic areas – immunology, hereditary cancers, inequalities, and interception – brining the total commitment in early detection research through the Alliance to more than £100m.
Each of the four ACED research themes are supported by a patient advocacy champion, bringing patients and the public into the heart of cancer early detection research.
The Alliance has three ambitions over the next 5 years:
- Enable equitable and accurate stratification of who is at risk of developing cancer, what the risk is, and use this to enable earlier cancer diagnoses and precision interception;
- Establish a framework to enable precision interception by understanding the biological processes of primary (pre)cancer development;
- Build capacity and expertise in early detection by cross-training across member centres.
ACED has three portfolios of work: Research, Training, and Infrastructure.
Research
Research is split across four programmes: Immunology, Hereditary, Inequalities and Interception.
These themes align with the CRUK early detection Roadmap and play to member centres’ strengths. This allows us to take advantage of significant expertise and resources in these areas which together has much greater potential than the sum of its parts.
Training
The ACED PhD Training Programme aims to develop future leaders in early detection science. With a portfolio of 23 studentships to date and a commitment to a further 15 in the next 5 years, ACED aims to expand access to this unique training opportunity to PhD students from non-ACED centres.
Infrastructure
The developing portfolio will be supported by a new infrastructure resource: the Research Design Unit, the ABIDE biomarker validation study, and individual ACED centre infrastructure.
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About ACED Manchester
ACED is a partnership between world-leading early detection institutes and organisations dedicated to improving the early detection of cancer.
Research Themes
ACED Manchester's research is prioritised across three key research themes and several disease sites.
Training and Development
A core goal at ACED Manchester is to enable the next-generation of early detection research scientists to become future leaders.
Funding Opportunities
Discover the opportunities for ACED Member organisations to lever additional ACED funding in strategic areas.
Funding Acknowledgements
Access the Communications Toolkit for researchers, students and projects funded through ACED
CRUK Manchester Centre
Navigate back to the CRUK Manchester Centre homepage