SCIENTISTS involved in the fight against cancer will run and cycle the length of Hadrian's Wall today to raise funds for research.

The researchers from the Institute of Human Genetics, in Newcastle, aim to run 84 miles in one day.

Starting at 5.30am at Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria, the team aims to finish at 7.30pm, at the Segedunum Roman Fort, in Wallsend, on Tyneside, this evening.

Dr Ann Curtis, from Heddon-on-the-Wall, near Newcastle, is organising the run with supportfrom her colleague, research associate Val Wilson.

Dr Curtis, head of the Diagnostic Service at the Institute of Human Genetics, will be running the first stage.

She said: "The run promises to be exhausting but good fun. The fact that we are running to support Cancer Research UK will help motivate many of us to keep going."

The Institute of Human Genetics is home to the Clinical Cancer Genetics Network and provides clinical services to hospitals in Newcastle.

Researchers funded by Cancer Research UK are involved in trials to see if simple remedies, such as aspirin and starch, can help reduce the risk of cancer developing in people with a hereditary link to the disease.

Professor John Burn, who heads the study, which is funded by Cancer Research UK, will also be taking part in the relay.

He said: "Every day, my colleagues and I work alongside families with a history of cancer and I know from them just how important it is to support Cancer Research UK's work."

Cancer Research UK spends more than £2m on a range of research projects at Newcastle University.

These include research to devise new and more effective cancer treatments for children and adults.

It also includes research into inherited cancers and clinical trials at hospitals across the region.