The charity’s Scientific Directors, Drs David & Bee Flavell co-founded Leukaemia Busters together with Wendy Sutcliffe and Julie Daws in 1989.
In 1988 fate brought these three families together when each of their sons developed T-cell leukaemia or lymphoma. By an ironic twist of fate the Flavell’s had succeeded just prior to their own son’s diagnosis in making one of first antibodies that is now used worldwide in the diagnosis of T-cell malignancies. It was a natural progression therefore to consider developing the antibodies that the Flavell’s were already working on for treatment. Thus Leukaemia Busters was born in 1989 through the concerted and passionate efforts of these three families. Leukaemia Busters was born with the intention of providing additional support for antibody research in the Flavell’s laboratory, then known as the Monoclonal Antibody Unit based in Southampton University’s Medical School.
As Leukaemia Busters grew over the years so too did the Flavell’s ambitions for safer and yet more effective antibody-based treatments for patients with leukaemia and lymphoma. Tragically the Flavell’s son Simon was one of the unlucky ones and died with his leukaemia in 1990 an event that dealt them a devastating personal blow from which they later took strength and resolve to move their research forward urgently for the benefit of the many other patients like Simon.
Still employed as senior research workers by the University of Southampton they successfully steered their research in a direction that ultimately led some years later to three clinical trials of antibody based drugs termed immunotoxins in children and adults with leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma that had been developed in their own research laboratories. Those laboratories were re-named the Simon Flavell Leukaemia Research Unit in honour of their son who when Gary & Michelle Lineker officially opened the labs in 1993.
Both remained senior research staff at the University of Southampton acting as honorary Scientific Directors to the charity until 2005. By this time the diversity and level of research activity was set to grow rapidly whereupon they became full time scientific directors of the charity to deal with the management of the ever increasing research portfolio that they had developed.
Biography for Dr David Flavell BSc PhD FRCPath
Biography for Dr Sopsamorn (Bee) U Flavell BSc PhD