Dr Ford is a member of the Oral Cancer Research Program. The program leverages a range of novel technologies, including optical fluorescence imaging to be able to diagnose oral cancer at its earliest stages, thus allowing early forms of treatment to be applied with maximal effect. The program is also investigating the role that cancer stem cells play in the propagation and recurrence of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions. The underlying premise of this program looks at creating a molecular signature for pre-cancerous conditions that can be used as a diagnostic test to either replace or supplement standard histopathological interpretation of oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma
