Name:
Dr Martin Eatock
Job Title:
Consultant / Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Northern Ireland Cancer Centre
Belfast City Hospital
Biography:
Dr Eatock qualified in medicine from the University of Edinburgh and trained in Oncology in Manchester and Glasgow. He took up post as a Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology in Belfast in 2000 and is an active member of the Upper Gastro-intestinal, Hepato-pancreatobiliary and Neuro-endocrine tumour teams.
He has clinical and research interests in gastro-intestinal cancer and drug development and is currently chief investigator for a number of national and international clinical trials in upper GI malignancy. Dr Eatock was appointed as Medical Director to the Northern Ireland Cancer Network in 2012 and has overseen the re-development of the Network since then with an expansion in the network site specific groups and the introduction of Peer Review of Cancer MDTs in Northern Ireland.
Name:
Professor Daniel Hochhauser
Job Title:
Chair of Medical Oncology and Consultant Medical Oncologist
Vice Chair:
UK Oncology FORUM
Organisation / Company:
UCL Cancer Institute / UCLH Trust
Biography:
Following postgraduate medical training in London and Oxford he was appointed clinical fellow in medical oncology at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford where he completed a DPhil. He subsequently worked as a medical oncology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York before appointment as a senior Lecturer and consultant in 1996.
Professor Hochhauser’s major clinical interest is in gastrointestinal medical oncology. His research is focused on development of novel therapeutics and early phase clinical studies.
Name:
Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite
Post-nominal Letters:
MB BChir PhD MRCP
Job Title:
Medical Oncology Consultant
Biography:
Professor Fiona Thislethwaite MB BChir PhD MRCP is a Medical Oncology Consultant within the ECMT (Experimental Cancer Medicine Team) at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, an Honorary Professor of Experimental Immunotherapy at The University of Manchester, and the Clinical Director of Manchester CRF at The Christie. Fiona has been actively involved in clinical trial development for many years with a research focus on early phase clinical trials in immune-oncology, particularly adoptive cell therapies, combination immunotherapies and immune biomarkers.
She is Clinical Lead for the Advanced Immune and Cell Therapy Team at The Christie and in 2018 Fiona was pivotal in establishing the iMATCH (Innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub) collaboration which one of three Innovate UK funded ATTC (Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres) forming a network with the aim of scaling up activity in the field of cell and gene therapy.
Name:
Professor Richard Adams
Job Title:
Clinical Senior Lecturer of Oncology & Palliative Medicine
Organisation / Company:
Cardiff University School of Medicine
Biography:
Richard Adams is a reader and Director of the Wales Cancer Trials Unit and Wales Cancer Bank. His clinical practice and research is focused on lower gastrointestinal cancers. He is chair of the NCRI anorectal subgroup and is active in national and international research organisations including IRCI the International Rare Cancer Initiative (for anal cancer) and ARCAD.
He chairs the biomarker development group for FOCUS4 is Chief investigator for FOCUS4 D and leads on the radiotherapy quality assurance for the UK ARISTOTLE, COPERNICUS and TREC trials. He oversees collaborative translational research in numerous phase II/ III colorectal cancer trials. He was a founder member of and now chairs the South Wales Cancer Care link with Sierra Leone.
Name:
Professor Richard Wilson
Job Title:
Professor of Gastrointestinal Oncology
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Biography:
Richard Wilson completed his medical degree at the Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and worked in N. Ireland and Scotland as a junior doctor. He undertook basic science research in colorectal cancer for which he received his doctoral degree. He subsequently trained in clinical oncology in N. Ireland and attained UK accreditation. Following this, he undertook a Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in the US National Institutes of Health where he received specialist training in medical oncology, early phase cancer clinical trials and drug development.
He returned to the UK as a clinical academic in QUB and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. He set up the early phase cancer clinical trials programme in Belfast and the N. Ireland Cancer Trials Network. He moved in February 2019 from his position as Professor in Cancer Medicine in QUB to the University of Glasgow where he is Professor of Gastrointestinal Oncology and also Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology in the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.
He works in lower gastrointestinal cancer (mainly in colorectal cancer but also in small bowel cancer and peritoneal malignancies) and conducts biological, translational and clinical research in these diseases. He is Chief Investigator on many local, national and international cancer clinical trials in both early and late phase settings. He previously chaired the UK National Cancer Research Institute Colorectal Cancer Clinical Studies Group and is a member of its Adjuvant and Advanced Disease Subgroup.
Name:
Professor Ruth Plummer
Post-nominal Letters:
MBE FMedSci
Job Title:
Clinical Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine
Chair:
UK Oncology FORUM
Organisation / Company:
Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University
Biography:
Ruth Plummer is Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, and an honorary consultant medical oncologist in Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust. She is Director of the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre within the Northern Centre for Cancer Care which is a dedicated clinical trials unit based within the regional cancer centre. She leads the Newcastle Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and also the CRUK Newcastle Cancer Centre. She trained at Cambridge and Oxford before moving back home to Newcastle and settling with her family in the Tyne valley.
Her research interests are in the field of DNA repair and early phase clinical trials of novel agents or novel imaging targets. She developed the clinical pharmacodynamic assay used in the first-in-class PARP inhibitor trial in 2003 and has worked with many of the PARP inhibitors currently under clinical development. Her pre-clinical research.
Name:
Professor Sarah Blagden
Job Title
Professor of Experimental Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Oxford
Biography:
Following medical training, Sarah undertook subsequent specialist training in Medical Oncology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. Sarah was awarded a CRUK Junior Clinician Scientist PhD fellowship to study fruit fly genetics at Cambridge University (2000-2004) and later held a Clinical Fellowship at the Institute of Cancer Research’s Drug Development Unit.
She was appointed as Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at Imperial College in 2006 where she specialised in treating gynaecological cancers, launched Imperial's Early Phase Trial portfolio and established her laboratory studying the dysregulation of mRNA translation in cancer. In 2015 she moved to Oxford University and is now a Professor of Experimental Oncology. Sarah was Director of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit until 2021 when she took over leadership of the Oxford Clinical Trials Office (OCTO) running a national trials portfolio specialising in early phase, Precision Prevention and Early Detection studies. She has been chief or principal investigator for a number of national and international clinical studies and her team's research focus is post-transcriptional gene regulation in precancer progression.
Name:
Dr Anthony Cunliffe
Job Title / Organisation / Company:
Macmillan National Clinical Adviser for Primary Care
Macmillan Lead Clinical Adviser and Clinical Adviser for London
Joint Clinical Chair, South East London Cancer alliance
Biography:
Anthony Cunliffe has been a GP for 17 years and practises part time in South London. He started working for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2012 as a Macmillan GP Facilitator. He subsequently became a GP Advisor and is now the National Lead Medical Adviser and the Clinical Adviser for London. Anthony is also the joint clinical director for the South East London Cancer Alliance and the Oncology Lead at ORCHA. Anthony has experience of working throughout the cancer pathway having been National Prevention and Diagnosis lead at Macmillan and a GPSI in End of Life Care but his passion is to ensure all people living with cancer receive good quality personalised care.
Name:
Dr Marina Parton
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital
Biography:
Dr Marina Parton is a Medical Oncologist in Breast Cancer at The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital. Appointed to The Royal Marsden Consultant Body in 2009, she received her oncology training at The Royal Marsden and carried out her research in neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer as part of a MD at The Institute of Cancer Research with Professors Dowsett and Smith.
Dr Parton is Lead Cancer Clinician in The Royal Marsden’s satellite chemotherapy unit, a joint venture with Kingston Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support as well as leading breast clinics at The Royal Marsden in Chelsea. She has published in breast cancer research, and is principle investigator in a number of clinical trials at The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital. She has previously been Chair of the Acute Oncology Group at The Royal Marsden, part of the Breast Pathway Group at London Cancer Alliance (LCA) and co chair of the LCA Chemotherapy Closer to Home Group. She is involved in a number of national educational groups and meetings in early and secondary breast cancer, and co edited Breast Cancer Survivorship; consequences of early breast cancer treatment. Dr Parton was member of the NICE Early Breast Guidelines update (published 2018).
Name:
Professor Vicky Coyle
Job Title:
Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant
Organisation / Company:
Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast
Biography:
Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast.
Vicky Coyle is a senior lecturer in Queens University Belfast and a consultant medical oncologist in the Belfast Trust. Her research interests include early phase clinical trials, late phase trials in supportive care in oncology and translational research and clinical trials in colorectal cancer.
Name:
Professor Samreen Ahmed
Post-nominal Letters:
FRCP, MD, MBBS, MSc (onc)
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF LEICESTER NHS TRUST
Biography:
Professor Ahmed has been a Consultant in Medical Oncology since 2006 and qualified in 1994 at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London. She has a research degree (MD) through Nottingham University and undertook oncology training in Weston Park Hospital (Sheffield), Nottingham City Hospital and the Leicester Royal Infirmary. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Appointed Honorary Chair of Medical Oncology by University of Leicester in 2016.
Professor Ahmed is the Training Programme Director for Medical Oncology. She is Chief Investigator and local Principal Investigator for a number of clinical trials in breast and lung cancer. Member of NCRI lung CSG and BTOG Steering Group. Honorary secretary for Association of Cancer Physicians since 2019.
Name:
Dr Pippa Corrie
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD FRCP
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist and Affiliated Associate Professor
Organisation / Company:
University of Cambridge
Biography:
Pippa Corrie qualified in medicine at Oxford University, having previously undertaken a PhD in anti-cancer drug development. She has been a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke’s Hospital) since 1997 and is an Associate Lecturer in the University of Cambridge. She has over 25 years of experience leading a regional melanoma clinical service highly integrated with research and been directly involved in development of modern melanoma therapeutics, She previously chaired the NCRI skin cancer group and is a co-founder and Trustee of the UK national charity, Melanoma Focus. Pippa works regionally, nationally and internationally to conduct melanoma clinical and translational trials: she is currently Chief Investigator of the NIHR portfolio MITRE microbiome study and PREMIUM, evaluating neoadjuvant BRAF targeted therapy. She is the NIHR Clinical Research Network National Specialty Lead for Late Phase and International Cancer Trials.
Name:
Dr David Chang
Job Title:
Professor of Surgical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Glasgow
Biography:
Dr David Chang is a Reader in Surgery at University of Glasgow. His research focus on the development and implementation of novel therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer particularly around DNA-damage response deficiency, by utilising molecular biomarkers of therapeutic response. Dr Chang undertook his pancreatic surgical fellowship, PhD, and post-doctoral training in Australia. He was recruited to University of Glasgow in 2013, as part of an initiative to implement precision medicine in Scotland and the UK. He co-leads Precision-Panc, a Cancer Research UK precision medicine programme to deliver personalised cancer care for pancreatic cancer, and is the overall translational lead. Dr Chang is also involved in the Precision Promise, a Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (USA) precision medicine initiative. He also contributes to ICGC-ARGO, aiming to shape the future of the next generation cancer genomic projects to ultimately realise the goals and promises of precision medicine.
Clinically Dr Chang is a Consultant Pancreatic Surgeon at the West of Scotland Pancreatic Unit in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a tertiary pancreatic referral centre for the West of Scotland. As a surgeon scientist, he aims to shorten the distance between the bench and the clinic to ensure meaningful and seamless translation.
Name:
Dr Lisa Pickering
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist, Renal and Skin Cancers
Associate Medical Director for Strategy
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Lisa Pickering is a Consultant Medical Oncologist who specialises in the treatment of cancers of the urinary tract; prostate cancer, bladder cancer, penile cancer, ureteric cancer and renal cancer.
Dr Pickering qualified in Medicine from at the Universities of Oxford (1989-1992) and London (1992-1995). She trained in Medical Oncology at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ and St. George’s Hospitals and was awarded a PhD from the University of London in 2007.
She was appointed as a Consultant Medical Oncologist at St. George’s Hospital and the Royal Marsden in 2008. In 2011 she became Clinical Lead for Oncology at St. George’s and in 2015 was appointed Chair of the Division of Medicine and Cardiovascular Sciences. She is research lead for urology at St. George’s and is a member of the UK National Clinical Study Groups for penile, renal and bladder cancers. In these roles she is involved in participating and leading numerous clinical and translational research protocols.
Name:
Professor Peter Hoskin
Job Title / Organisation / Company:
Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
Professor in Clinical Oncology
University of Manchester
Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Christie Hospital & University College Hospital
Biography:
Peter Hoskin trained in clinical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital London and has been consultant in clinical oncology at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Northwood UK since 1992. He is also Professor in Clinical Oncology in the University of Manchester and honorary consultant in clinical oncology at the Christie Hospital, Manchester and University College Hospital, London. Research interests focus on radiosensitisation, biomarkers, radiotherapy quality assurance, palliative radiotherapy, and brachytherapy. He is a member of the GEC ESTRO committee and ESTRO Board. In the UK chairs the Fellowship Examination Board and the Academic Committee for the Royal College of Radiologists. He has published extensively and was Editor of Clinical Oncology for 15 years. He is now Clinical Editor for Radiotherapy and Oncology and sits on several journal editorial boards.
Name:
Professor Ananya Choudhury
Job Title:
Chair and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Group Leader Translational Radiobiology
Organisation / Company:
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Biography:
Professor Choudhury is Chair and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology. She joined The Christie in 2008 specialising in urology and sarcoma and has a strong interest in translational research. In 2013, she decided to focus on radiotherapy-related research in prostate and bladder cancers. Within the Division of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, she is clinical lead for advanced radiotherapy, including the MRLinac project, and is co-Group Leader of The Translational Radiobiology Group
Professor Choudhury graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, but undertook her Clinical Oncology training at the Yorkshire Deanery from 2000-2008. Between 2005 and 2007, she was a Cancer Research UK Clinical Training Research Fellow and she undertook her PhD at the University of Leeds and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. She has a lead role in education and training for specialist registrars and clinical fellows.
Over the past few years, Professor Choudhury has been involved with national concerns such as the Royal College of Radiologists, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad), the NCRI Bladder Clinical Studies Group and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Since early 2021, she has been the Editor in Chief of Clinical Oncology.
Name:
Professor Benjamin Fairfax
Post-nominal Letters:
BM BCh PhD MRCP
Job Title:
Associate Professor
Hon. Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
University of Oxford
Biography:
I did my PhD at the MRC-LMCB, UCL completing this in 2003 and then completed my clinical training in Oxford.
I was accepted onto the Oxford Academic Foundation programme and, having become interested in human genetics, took time away from clinical training to gain postdoctoral experience. I was awarded a Wellcome MB-PhD postdoctoral Fellowship and I did this in Julian Knight's group at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics.
Upon completion of this I specialised in Medical Oncology. I see skin cancer patients as a Consultant in the Oxford Cancer Centre. I am co-lead for Immunology on the NIHR Oncology Translational Research Group.
Name:
Professor Russell Petty
Post-nominal Letters:
BMSc MB ChB PhD MRCP(UK) MRCPE FRCP
Job Title:
Chair of Medical Oncology
Director of Tayside Medical Science Centre(TASC)
Organisation / Company:
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee
Biography:
Professor Russell Petty is Chair of Medical Oncology and Deputy Head of the Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine at the University of Dundee. He leads a research programme in clinical and translational cancer medicine focused upon oesophageal and gastric cancer involving both laboratory research developing precision medicine approaches and investigating mechanisms of drug resistance , as well as early and late phase clinical trials. His government and professional advisory roles include to the Chief Medical Officer in Scotland, Scottish Parliament, Chief Scientist in Scotland, National Cancer Research Institute, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, Scottish Medicines Consortium, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, European Society of Medical Oncology, International Gastric Cancer Association and International Cancer Genome Consortium-ARGO. Professor Petty has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, including in high impact journals such as The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Nature Genetics.
Name:
Dr Janet Graham
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Biography:
Dr Janet Graham
Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, UK
Dr Graham is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre where she treats colon, pancreas and upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Along with being GI team lead, her main focus is on maximising patient opportunities to take part in clinical trials; she is chief or principle investigator on a number of early and later phase clinical trials. Dr Graham is also Clinical Lead for the West of Scotland Colorectal Cancer Managed Clinical Network and she currently chairs the NCRI Adjuvant and Advanced Colorectal Subgroup. She is a medical advisor to Bowel Cancer UK and advises NICE and SMC on new medicines in GI indications. She sits on a number of trial management groups including FOCUS 4, ADD ASPIRIN, ARIEL, FoxTROT 2&3 and leads the PRIMUS 001 trial in the UK, which is part of the PRECISION PANC platform. She is on the faculty for Oncology Forum, where she co-chairs the upper GI session. Dr Graham has worked hard over recent years to ensure equitable access to BRAF, RAS and MSI testing for colorectal patients along with HER2 testing for gastric cancer. She has a key role in education at the Beatson where she is the lead trainer for IMTs, and she also supports the undergraduate programme and is clinical supervisor for medical oncology trainees in GI cancers.
Name:
Dr Natalie Cook
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer
Organisation / Company:
Clinical Lecturer at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust/University of Manchester
Biography:
Dr Natalie Cook is a Medical Oncologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust/University of Manchester. She is also the clinical lead for Manchester Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC). She completed her training in Cambridge, UK, where she was also awarded a PhD. In 2015 she completed a two year drug development research fellowship, based at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada. In her current position she is a Principal or Chief Investigator on over 20 trials. She has research interests in CUP, leading a portfolio of clinical trials in this area, and is also interested in clinical trial design, biomarker development and patient experience on clinical trials
Name:
Dr Sonali Dasgupta
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD, FRCP, PG Dip
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Velindre University NHS Trust
Biography:
Dr Sonali Dasgupta is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Velindre University NHS Trust, specialising in Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) and colorectal cancer. She previously pioneered a new acute oncology service in Northern Ireland. Moving back to Wales, she joined as Consultant Oncologist at Velindre University NHS Trust. She is the founder and Clinical Lead of Southeast Wales CUP Service, and CUP as a Cancer Site Group (CSG) within Wales Cancer Network. She represents Wales in the UK CUP Cancer Research working group and as faculty member of international organisation, World CUP Alliance (WCA).
Sonali holds a CRUK-funded PhD in colorectal cancer and has published and presented widely. She’s Principal Investigator on several major international trials and plays an active role in education—mentoring Associate PIs, oncology trainees, medical students, and post-grad pharmacists. She is faculty member of Velindre-led international FRCR course.
Her work has earned national recognition, including the ACCIA National Impact Award, Highly Meritorious certification in Health and Technology (EMWWAA) and multiple staff and patient-nominated excellence awards.
Name:
Dan Monnery
Job Title:
consultant in palliative medicine and clinical lead
Organisation / Company:
Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool, UK
Biography:
Dan Monnery is a consultant in palliative medicine and clinical lead for palliative and supportive care at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool, UK. He is the sitting president of the UK Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (UKASCC). His clinical work focusses on early symptom intervention through integration of early palliative care services in treatable but not curable cancer. Dan’s academic interest is in development service models and quantitative outcome measures from palliative care interventions.
Name:
Professor Kwok-Leung Cheung
Job Title:
Professor of Breast Surgery and Medical Education, and Deputy Head of Education and Director of The BMBS Medicine Programmes
Organisation / Company:
University of Nottingham
Biography:
Professor Kwok-Leung Cheung is Professor of Breast Surgery and Medical Education, and Deputy Head of Education and Director of The BMBS Medicine Programmes at the University of Nottingham. He qualified and trained in Hong Kong, was appointed as Consultant Breast Surgeon, Nottingham University Hospitals in 2001, and is now an Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton. Professor Cheung has clinical and research interests in breast cancer and geriatric oncology. He has served many roles in the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) where he is currently the President-Elect and the UK National Representative. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA), and of the Breast Cancer Clinical Guidelines Committee and the Expert Adviser Panel of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2010, Professor Cheung pioneered the Symposium on Primary Breast Cancer in Older Women in the UK, which has now become a biennial event, hosted by the University under the auspices of SIOG.
Name:
Dr Ben O’Leary
Job Title:
Group Leader: Evolution and Translational Genomics
Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden Hospital
Biography:
Ben leads the Evolution & Translational Genomics Group at The Institute of Cancer Research and is an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Ben's research is focused on understanding the evolution of resistance to cancer therapies in head and neck cancers, including the use of liquid biopsies. He leads several translational studies and clinical trials at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden.
Ben initially completed a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cambridge before training in medicine at King's College London. After junior medical training in London he was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Clinical Oncology in 2012 at The Royal Marsden Hospital, The Royal Sussex Hospital, and The Institute of Cancer Research.
Ben then undertook a Medical Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellowship in Professor Nick Turner's Molecular Oncology lab at The Institute of Cancer Research in 2015, working on circulating tumour DNA and the evolution of resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Subsequently, he was appointed as an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in 2019, with a visiting position in Peter Van Loo’s Group at The Crick in London, then MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, working on cancer evolution. He was appointed as Clinician Scientist at The Institute for Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital in 2022. In 2024, Ben received a Wellcome Discovery Research Early Career Fellowship to support his research into the evolution of treatment resistance in head and neck cancer.
Name:
Dr Will Ince
Job Title:
GU/Head and Neck oncologist
Affiliated Assistant Professor
Organisation / Company:
Addenbrookes, University of Cambridge
Biography:
I am a GU/Head and Neck oncologist at Addenbrookes and an Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge. I am research lead for urological malignancies and have an interest in all phase clinical trials. I have a particular interest in vaccine combination and monotherapy trials and have been chief and principal investigator in multiple trials both in the perioperative and metastatic settings. I have a link with a large internationally renowned translational biology laboratory with a specific focus on tumour epithelioids. Together with colleagues nationally I have been part of policy advisory committees trying to shape the future of vaccine delivery strategy nationally.
Name:
Mr Hassan Malik
Job Title:
Consultant Surgeon
Organisation / Company:
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust
Biography:
Mr Hassan Malik is a Consultant Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust. He is a surgical oncologist with an extensive hepatobiliary and retroperitoneal sarcoma operative experience, having performed in excess of 1000 liver resections to date. He obtained his medical degree from Glasgow University in 1992. He passed the FRCS exam in 1996 and was awarded a M.D from the University of Glasgow in 2000. He is a fellow of the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Mr Malik has also led development of an active research programme that has links to University of Liverpool; the Liverpool clinical Trials Unit; MRC centre for drug safety; Royal Liverpool University hospital; Clatterbridge and the Christie Oncology hospitals. He has supervised a number of PhD and MD students and has in excess of 150 publications within his field of interest. He was awarded an associate professorship from the University of Liverpool in 2019.
Mr Malik is also past-chair of the NCRN Upper GI group as well as past-president of the British Association of Surgical Oncology and President Elect of the European Society of Surgical Oncology, as well as associate editor of the European Journal of Surgical Oncology.
Name:
Dr Fin Slevin
Job Title:
Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Leeds and Leeds Cancer Centre
Biography:
Fin is an Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at University of Leeds and Leeds Cancer Centre. He is a current holder of an NIHR Advanced Fellowship focused on optimising radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Fin is co-chief investigator of the POINTER-PC study, a phase 3 clinical trial of radiotherapy for pelvic nodal recurrence in prostate cancer. His clinical practice is focused on treatment of urological cancers with radiotherapy including with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.
Name:
Dr Rebecca Muirhead
Post-nominal Letters:
MBChB MRCP MD FRCR
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Oxford University Hospitals
Biography:
Rebecca led the national implementation of Anal and Rectal IMRT which are now routinely delivered across the UK and the gold standard within prospective trials. As deputy chair of the UK SABR Consortium she has led the development of national pelvic SABR reirradiation guidelines and is leading the national audit of this technique. Her research interests are personalised radiotherapy and reirradiation. She is currently a member of the ESTRO Reirradiation Focus Group and the ReCOG Lower GI reirradiation Group. She is a CI, co-CI, TMG or DMEC member, RTTQA reviewer or safety committee member for a number of UK trials such as ART, PLATO, CEDAR, PRIME, HALT, ELECTRA. She has over 50 peer reviewed articles published in international journals which can be reviewed at:
Name:
Dr Joanne Bird
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Nurse Consultant in Melanoma and Immunotherapy
Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Organisation / Company:
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
University of Sheffield
Biography:
Jo Bird is a Nurse Consultant in Melanoma and Immunotherapy Late Effects at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield. She maintains a clinical academic career having completed an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship exploring the supportive care needs of melanoma patients and their carers. Prior to this Jo was a Clinical Research Nurse working in a variety of cancer sites and early phase trials with a focus on melanoma. She is now researching the long-term effects of immunotherapy alongside her clinical practice as part of the Late Effects Team in Sheffield who won the Ingrid Fuchs Award for Cancer Nursing at the 2024 Nursing Times Awards. The team were also finalists for The King’s Award for Integrated Care and Team of the Year and Jo was also a finalist for Cancer Nurse of the Year at the British Journal of Nursing Awards in 2024.
Name:
Dr Mary Tanay
Job Title:
Consultant Nurse in Genomics
Organisation / Company:
Berkshire Cancer Centre-Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Mary Tanay is a Macmillan Consultant Nurse in Genomics at Berkshire Cancer Centre-Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, President of the UK Oncology Nursing Society, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, Faculty of Nursing Midwifery and Palliative Care.
Name:
Dr John McGrane
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Royal Cornwall Hospital
Biography:
Dr John McGrane has been working as a consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital since 2014. He is the clinical lead for radiotherapy at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and specialises in radiotherapy and systemic anti-cancer treatment of urological and gynaecological cancers.
Alongside his clinical practice he is actively involved in recruiting into clinical trials in urological and gynaecological cancers at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. He is UK Chief Investigator in the IMReal urothelial immunotherapy study on TMG of several gynaecological trials. He is Principal Investigator for over 20 urology and gynaecology clinical.
He is co-founder of the UK Renal Oncology Collaboration looking at RWE in renal cancer.
Dr McGrane is an expert in digital health solutions for cancer patient follow up and care. In 2018 he co-founded the award winning MySunrise cancer patient support app. This is now live throughout the South West and West Midlands.
Name:
Mr Hassan Malik
Job Title:
Consultant Surgeon
Organisation / Company:
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust
Biography:
Mr Hassan Malik is a Consultant Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust. He is a surgical oncologist with an extensive hepatobiliary and retroperitoneal sarcoma operative experience, having performed in excess of 1000 liver resections to date. He obtained his medical degree from Glasgow University in 1992. He passed the FRCS exam in 1996 and was awarded a M.D from the University of Glasgow in 2000. He is a fellow of the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Mr Malik has also led development of an active research programme that has links to University of Liverpool; the Liverpool clinical Trials Unit; MRC centre for drug safety; Royal Liverpool University hospital; Clatterbridge and the Christie Oncology hospitals. He has supervised a number of PhD and MD students and has in excess of 150 publications within his field of interest. He was awarded an associate professorship from the University of Liverpool in 2019.
Mr Malik is also past-chair of the NCRN Upper GI group as well as past-president of the British Association of Surgical Oncology and President Elect of the European Society of Surgical Oncology, as well as associate editor of the European Journal of Surgical Oncology.
Name:
Dr Mireia Crispin
Job Title:
Group Leader, Early Cancer Institute
Associate Professor, Department of Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Cambridge
Biography:
Dr Mireia Crispin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology of the University of Cambridge and Group Leader at the Early Cancer Institute. Her research group focuses on the development of radiogenomic data integration models to understand and predict the evolution of hard-to-treat cancers. She co-leads the Women’s Cancers Programme at the CRUK Cambridge Centre, and the Mark Foundation Institute for Integrated Cancer Medicine. She is also co-founder and Chief Digital Officer of 52 North Health, an award-winning biotech start-up developing affordable at-home tests for cancer patients. Dr Crispin worked previously at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and was the Director of the Healthcare Innovation programme of the Center for the Governance of Change at IE University (Madrid, Spain), focusing on policy challenges for the integration of AI and digital health in European healthcare. She holds a PhD in Particle Physics (University of Oxford, 2015). She is an author in over 400 publications and has received numerous national and international awards, most recently finalist of the Cancer Research Horizons Early-Career (2022) and Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2025) awards.
Name:
Professor Peter Hoskin
Job Title / Organisation / Company:
Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
Professor in Clinical Oncology
University of Manchester
Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Christie Hospital & University College Hospital
Biography:
Peter Hoskin trained in clinical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital London and has been consultant in clinical oncology at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Northwood UK since 1992. He is also Professor in Clinical Oncology in the University of Manchester and honorary consultant in clinical oncology at the Christie Hospital, Manchester and University College Hospital, London. Research interests focus on radiosensitisation, biomarkers, radiotherapy quality assurance, palliative radiotherapy, and brachytherapy. He is a member of the GEC ESTRO committee and ESTRO Board. In the UK chairs the Fellowship Examination Board and the Academic Committee for the Royal College of Radiologists. He has published extensively and was Editor of Clinical Oncology for 15 years. He is now Clinical Editor for Radiotherapy and Oncology and sits on several journal editorial boards.
Name:
Professor Ananya Choudhury
Job Title:
Chair and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Group Leader Translational Radiobiology
Organisation / Company:
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Biography:
Professor Choudhury is Chair and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology. She joined The Christie in 2008 specialising in urology and sarcoma and has a strong interest in translational research. In 2013, she decided to focus on radiotherapy-related research in prostate and bladder cancers. Within the Division of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, she is clinical lead for advanced radiotherapy, including the MRLinac project, and is co-Group Leader of The Translational Radiobiology Group
Professor Choudhury graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, but undertook her Clinical Oncology training at the Yorkshire Deanery from 2000-2008. Between 2005 and 2007, she was a Cancer Research UK Clinical Training Research Fellow and she undertook her PhD at the University of Leeds and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. She has a lead role in education and training for specialist registrars and clinical fellows.
Over the past few years, Professor Choudhury has been involved with national concerns such as the Royal College of Radiologists, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad), the NCRI Bladder Clinical Studies Group and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Since early 2021, she has been the Editor in Chief of Clinical Oncology.
Name:
Dr Sarah Treece
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Radiotherapy Lead
Organisation / Company:
Peterborough City Hospital, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Treece graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge, and completed Clinical Oncology training in the East of England, before taking up her Consultant post in 2012. She specialises in bladder, prostate and lung cancers in Peterborough, which is a busy District General Hospital with its own Radiotherapy Department.
Alongside Dr Mohini Varughese (Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Taunton) she is co-lead of the RCR National Bladder Cancer Radiotherapy Audit. The first round of this audit collected data back in 2016/7, and a re-audit has just been completed in 2025. She also chairs the East of England Network Bladder Radiotherapy Group.
Name:
Dr David Lugo Palacios
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Associate Professor
Organisation / Company:
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Biography:
Dr David Lugo Palacios is an Associate Professor in Health Economics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He has co-led the Policy Evaluation theme within the Global Health Economics Centre since 2021 and holds an Honorary Research Fellow position at Imperial College London. His current research uses real-world data and causal inference methods to evaluate, target and design health and social care policy, with applications across cancer, diabetes, integrated care, and adult social care. He is the co-Principal Investigator of SORT: Surgery Or RadioTherapy for early-stage cancer funded by the NIHR. Prior to joining LSHTM, David held research positions at Imperial College London and at the University of Manchester, and worked in the Mexican public and private sectors. David holds a PhD in Health Economics from LSHTM, an MSc. in Health Economics and Policy from the Barcelona School of Economics, and a BA in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
Name:
Dr Kilian M. Gust
Post-nominal Letters:
MD, FEBU
Job Title:
Consultant Urologist and Uro‑Oncology Specialist
Organisation / Company:
Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Biography:
Dr Kilian M. Gust, MD, FEBU is a consultant urologist and uro‑oncology specialist based at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, where he serves as Head of the Uro‑Oncology Outpatient Clinic and Clinical Trials Unit.
He specialises in urothelial cancers (particularly bladder cancer) and systemic cancer therapies, with a strong focus on both clinical care and research.
Dr Gust obtained his medical degree from the University of Ulm (Germany) and completed specialist training in urology in Germany before becoming a Fellow of the European Board of Urology (FEBU).
He has also undertaken international research, including a postdoctoral fellowship at the Vancouver Prostate Centre (Canada).
Since 2016, he has been a faculty member in Vienna and has played a leading role in uro‑oncology research and clinical trials. He has contributed to 100+ scientific publications and participated in numerous international clinical studies.
In addition, he is actively involved in professional organisations, including serving as Chair of the Austrian Working Group for Urological Oncology (AUO).
Name:
Dr Hilary Glen
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Biography:
Dr Hilary Glen is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow.
She specialises in the treatment of genitourinary cancers, including prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers, and is actively involved in both patient care and clinical research.
Dr Glen has contributed significantly to cancer research and drug development, including work on targeted therapies such as lenvatinib, helping to advance treatment options for patients with advanced cancers worldwide.
Alongside her clinical and academic roles, she is involved in national cancer initiatives and advisory groups, contributing to the improvement of cancer care and clinical standards across the UK.
Name:
Dr Marina Parton
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital
Biography:
Dr Marina Parton is a Medical Oncologist in Breast Cancer at The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital. Appointed to The Royal Marsden Consultant Body in 2009, she received her oncology training at The Royal Marsden and carried out her research in neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer as part of a MD at The Institute of Cancer Research with Professors Dowsett and Smith.
Dr Parton is Lead Cancer Clinician in The Royal Marsden’s satellite chemotherapy unit, a joint venture with Kingston Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support as well as leading breast clinics at The Royal Marsden in Chelsea. She has published in breast cancer research, and is principle investigator in a number of clinical trials at The Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital. She has previously been Chair of the Acute Oncology Group at The Royal Marsden, part of the Breast Pathway Group at London Cancer Alliance (LCA) and co chair of the LCA Chemotherapy Closer to Home Group. She is involved in a number of national educational groups and meetings in early and secondary breast cancer, and co edited Breast Cancer Survivorship; consequences of early breast cancer treatment. Dr Parton was member of the NICE Early Breast Guidelines update (published 2018).
Name:
Dr Caroline Wilson
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
Organisation / Company:
The Christie
Biography:
Dr Caroline Wilson started her medical Oncology training at Weston Park Cancer Centre Sheffield in 2007 and completed her PhD in 2014, which focussed on the role of female hormones as influencers of the anti-cancer efficacy of bone targeted agents in early breast cancer. She was appointed Consultant in Medical Oncology (breast and acute oncology) at Weston Park in 2015 and moved to the Christie in Jan 2024. She specialises in the treatment of breast cancer and has published multiple papers in peer reviewed journals including the Lancet, JCO, The Breast, EJC. She is co-Chief Investigator of the NewDay Trial which is a YCR funded trial investigating a diet and exercise intervention after curative therapy for oestrogen positive breast cancer. Caroline is also an acute oncologist specialising in delivery of senior acute oncology support to AO services in acute NHS trusts across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, is Gm alliance AO clinical lead and is the secretary of the UK Acute Oncology Society.
Name:
Professor Vicky Coyle
Job Title:
Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant
Organisation / Company:
Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast
Biography:
Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast.
Vicky Coyle is a senior lecturer in Queens University Belfast and a consultant medical oncologist in the Belfast Trust. Her research interests include early phase clinical trials, late phase trials in supportive care in oncology and translational research and clinical trials in colorectal cancer.
Name:
Dr Naureen Starling
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden
Biography:
Dr Naureen Starling is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden specialising in treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and is a Reader within the Division of Clinical Studies at the Institute of Cancer Research.
Dr Starling graduated from University College London with First Class Honours in Physiology (BSc) and distinctions in Clinical Pharmacology/Therapeutics and Pathology. She undertook general medical training at University College Hospital and Northwick Park/St Mark’s hospitals and specialist training in Medical Oncology at The Royal Marsden. Her postgraduate degree at the ICR focused on the genomics and therapeutics of oesophageal cancer.
Her research interests in GI cancers (oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and colorectal) are focused on earlier phase clinical trials, novel therapeutics/technologies and the delivery of individualised medicine to patients with gastrointestinal cancers. She is the principal investigator on numerous international clinical trials of novel drugs in oesophago-gastric, pancreatic and colorectal cancer. She is a member of several multi-centre clinical trial steering and safety review committees. Dr Starling has been a lead or co-applicant on a number of successful peer-reviewed research grant applications.
She is the Associate Director of Clinical Research for the Royal Marsden and serves on the UK National Cancer Research Institute oesophago-gastric and colorectal sub-groups. She has acted as a clinical expert in oesophago-gastric cancer for NICE (guideline committee and technology appraisal) and is a trustee for Pancreatic Cancer UK. She has been a faculty member of ESMO (GI), GI ASCO and ASCO.
Dr Starling also holds educational roles including NIHR Training Lead for the RM/Institute of Cancer Research Biomedical Research Centre, member of the ICR/Imperial College CRUK Major centre training committee, Training Program Director (one of four) for South London Medical Oncology Training and a member of the pan-London specialist Medical oncology training committee.
Name:
Dr Susanna Slater
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden
Biography:
Dr Susanna Slater is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital specialising in the treatment of GI malignancies and Acute Oncology.
Susanna completed her undergraduate medical training at the University of Birmingham. Following completion of Core Medical Training, she undertook specialist Medical Oncology training at Imperial College London and later the Royal Marsden Hospital where she was appointed a Consultant in 2026.
Susanna was awarded an MD(Res) degree from the University of London/Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute of Cancer Research following her clinical trials research evaluating the clinical validity and utility of ctDNA for predicting colorectal cancer recurrence and guiding adjuvant treatment strategies in patients with resected early colorectal cancer, in the context of the TRACC clinical trial.
Name:
Dr Ben O’Leary
Job Title:
Group Leader: Evolution and Translational Genomics
Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden Hospital
Biography:
Ben leads the Evolution & Translational Genomics Group at The Institute of Cancer Research and is an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Ben's research is focused on understanding the evolution of resistance to cancer therapies in head and neck cancers, including the use of liquid biopsies. He leads several translational studies and clinical trials at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden.
Ben initially completed a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cambridge before training in medicine at King's College London. After junior medical training in London he was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Clinical Oncology in 2012 at The Royal Marsden Hospital, The Royal Sussex Hospital, and The Institute of Cancer Research.
Ben then undertook a Medical Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellowship in Professor Nick Turner's Molecular Oncology lab at The Institute of Cancer Research in 2015, working on circulating tumour DNA and the evolution of resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Subsequently, he was appointed as an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in 2019, with a visiting position in Peter Van Loo’s Group at The Crick in London, then MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, working on cancer evolution. He was appointed as Clinician Scientist at The Institute for Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital in 2022. In 2024, Ben received a Wellcome Discovery Research Early Career Fellowship to support his research into the evolution of treatment resistance in head and neck cancer.
Name:
Dr Will Ince
Job Title:
GU/Head and Neck oncologist
Affiliated Assistant Professor
Organisation / Company:
Addenbrookes, University of Cambridge
Biography:
I am a GU/Head and Neck oncologist at Addenbrookes and an Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge. I am research lead for urological malignancies and have an interest in all phase clinical trials. I have a particular interest in vaccine combination and monotherapy trials and have been chief and principal investigator in multiple trials both in the perioperative and metastatic settings. I have a link with a large internationally renowned translational biology laboratory with a specific focus on tumour epithelioids. Together with colleagues nationally I have been part of policy advisory committees trying to shape the future of vaccine delivery strategy nationally.
Name:
Dr Sarah Hargreaves
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Sarah Hargreaves was appointed Consultant Clinical Oncologist at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in October 2021, specialising in Head and Neck and HPB cancers.
Prior to taking a consultant post, Sarah completed a 3 year Clinical Research Fellowship at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, and was involved in setting up the PEARL study, looking at biological response based adaptive radiotherapy in HPV positive OPSCC. Sarah was awarded an MD at Cardiff University in 2024.
Sarah is currently an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Bristol University. She is oncology lead for the Head and Neck 5000 study. Her research interests include head and neck palliative radiotherapy, long term radiotoxicity and patient reported outcomes, and the improvement in equity of access to clinical studies. She lives in Bristol with her husband and two young sons.
Name:
Dr David Hamilton
Job Title:
Consultant ENT, head & neck and thyroid surgeon
Organisation / Company:
Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne
Biography:
David (known as “Winnie) is a consultant ENT, head, neck and thyroid surgeon at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. His clinical work centres on developing safe processes of care, reducing inequality and developing the roles of Allied Healthcare Professionals and trainee surgeons. He is currently the NIHR Medical Health & Care Research Director for the North East and North Cumbria RRDN.
Name:
Dr Paolo Bossi
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori
Biography:
Dr Paolo Bossi is an internationally recognised medical oncologist specialising in head and neck cancers, immunotherapy, and supportive cancer care. With extensive experience in both clinical practice and cancer research, he has become a respected figure within the global oncology community, known for his patient-focused approach and contributions to advancing personalised cancer treatment.
Throughout his career, Dr Bossi has worked with leading cancer institutions in Europe, including the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, one of Italy’s foremost oncology centres. His work has focused particularly on recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancers, helping to develop innovative treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.
In addition to his clinical expertise, Dr Bossi has played an active role within the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), contributing to international treatment guidelines, educational programmes, and collaborative cancer research initiatives. He has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications in the field of oncology and is widely regarded for his expertise in immunotherapy and multidisciplinary cancer care.
Dr Bossi is passionate about improving the quality of life for cancer patients through compassionate care, evidence-based medicine, and international collaboration. His work continues to influence modern oncology practices across Europe and beyond.
Name:
Professor Samreen Ahmed
Post-nominal Letters:
FRCP, MD, MBBS, MSc (onc)
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF LEICESTER NHS TRUST
Biography:
Professor Ahmed has been a Consultant in Medical Oncology since 2006 and qualified in 1994 at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London. She has a research degree (MD) through Nottingham University and undertook oncology training in Weston Park Hospital (Sheffield), Nottingham City Hospital and the Leicester Royal Infirmary. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Appointed Honorary Chair of Medical Oncology by University of Leicester in 2016.
Professor Ahmed is the Training Programme Director for Medical Oncology. She is Chief Investigator and local Principal Investigator for a number of clinical trials in breast and lung cancer. Member of NCRI lung CSG and BTOG Steering Group. Honorary secretary for Association of Cancer Physicians since 2019.
Name:
Dr Sean Dulloo
Job Title:
consultant medical oncologist and Honorary Associate Professor
Organisation / Company:
Head of Service for Oncology at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Biography:
Dr Sean Dulloo is a consultant medical oncologist and Honorary Associate Professor. He is current Head of Service for Oncology at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. He is also the clinical lead for thoracic oncology. He specialises in managing thoracic cancers, hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers, and neuroendocrine tumours.
Name:
Dr Crispin Hiley
Job Title:
Associate Professor
Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
UCLH
Biography:
Dr Hiley is an Associate Professor with tenure in Radiation Oncology at UCL and an Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at UCLH.
He graduated with honours from the University in Manchester in 2005. He has trained in Oncology at many centres of excellence both in the UK and aboard. These include the Christie Hospital, the MD Anderson Cancer Centre (Houston, USA), Kings College (NIHR Clinical Lecturer) and the Royal Marsden (NIHR Clinical Fellow). He completed a PhD at the University of London with the Barts Cancer Institute and a postdoctoral research Fellowship the Francis Crick Institute and the UCL Cancer institute.
He became a consultant in 2018 joining the thoracic oncology team at UCLH. In addition, he is the UCLH Lead for Lung Proton Therapy, Deputy Lead of Clinical Trials Theme for the CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and NIHR Clinical Research Network Speciality Research Lead Radiotherapy for North London. He heads a research group at the UCL Cancer Institute focused on understanding resistance to radiation therapy.
Dr Hiley specialises in non-surgical treatments for all types of lung cancer. He has expertise in chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy including state of the art radiotherapy techniques including Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT), Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), Proton Therapy and Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SBRT). Dr Hiley has expertise in treating all sites of metastatic disease (except for brain) with stereotactic radiotherapy including lung, liver, lymph nodes, adrenal glands, spine and other bone sties.
He is the principal investigator and national chief investigator for several academic and commercial clinical trials in lung cancer. He has published in several the world’s leading journals including NEJM, The Lancet, Nature and Cell. He is a member of the expert group which authored the Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer Royal College of Radiologists Consensus Statement.
Name:
Dr Shobhit Baijal
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
Biography:
Dr Shobhit Baijal is a Consultant Medical Oncologist based at The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust where he actively treats lung and colorectal cancer patients.
He specialises in all forms of cancer drug treatment including chemotherapy, immuno-oncology, precision oncology and chemo-embolisation.
Dr Baijal has a large clinical trial portfolio and is UK Chief Investigator and Principle Investigator for national and international clinical trials. He has numerous publications and regularly presents at regional, national and international cancer meetings. He is on the BTOG Steering Committee also sits on the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation advisory panel.
He is heavily involved with cancer pathway optimisation and re-design both at a Trust and Cancer Alliance level, where he has already implemented practice changing innovations.
Name:
Professor Mike Hubank
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Scientific Director
Professor of Translational Genomics
Organisation / Company:
Royal Marsden Hospital
NHS England North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub
Institute for Cancer Research, London
Biography:
Professor Mike Hubank Scientific Director, Clinical Genomics, Royal Marsden Hospital, London
Scientific Director, NHS England North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub
Professor of Translational Genomics, Institute for Cancer Research, London
Professor Hubank has worked in Genomics for over 20 years. Following a PhD at UCL, he worked at the University of Sussex and Yale University before returning to the UCL Institute of Child Health in 2000 to found and run UCL Genomics. In 2016 he moved into clinical diagnostics at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, to lead a translational laboratory focused on the development and clinical application of genomic assays for cancer diagnostics. Since 2018 he has been Scientific Director at the NHS England North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub.
NHSE Circulating Biomarkers Network of Excellence
Mike is a co-lead (with Matt Krebs and Paul Ryves) of the Circulating Biomarkers Network of Excellence. The network focusses on identifying clinical use cases for ctDNA and other liquid biomarkers, connecting a wide range of interested parties, and enabling evidence-based development of testing towards standard of care adoption.
Name:
Professor Patrick Forde
Job Title:
Chair of Immuno-Oncology
Professor of Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Trinity College Dublin
Johns Hopkins
Biography:
Prof. Patrick Forde is Prendergast Chair of Immuno-Oncology at Trinity College Dublin and Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins where he led the lung cancer program and thoracic oncology research programs. He has led the development of neoadjuvant immunotherapy for resectable lung cancer, initially exploring the role of single agent immunotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy and more recently as principal investigator of the CheckMate 816 trial which led to the approval internationally of neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy for stage II-III lung cancer. He is currently co-PI for the global platform neoadjuvant trial, NeoCOAST-2, serves as co-chair for the early stage lung cancer group at the European Thoracic Oncology Platform and chairs the early stage lung cancer scientific program committee for ASCO 2026 and the metastatic lung cancer committee for ESMO 2026.
Name:
Dr Pippa Corrie
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD FRCP
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist and Affiliated Associate Professor
Organisation / Company:
University of Cambridge
Biography:
Pippa Corrie qualified in medicine at Oxford University, having previously undertaken a PhD in anti-cancer drug development. She has been a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke’s Hospital) since 1997 and is an Associate Lecturer in the University of Cambridge. She has over 25 years of experience leading a regional melanoma clinical service highly integrated with research and been directly involved in development of modern melanoma therapeutics, She previously chaired the NCRI skin cancer group and is a co-founder and Trustee of the UK national charity, Melanoma Focus. Pippa works regionally, nationally and internationally to conduct melanoma clinical and translational trials: she is currently Chief Investigator of the NIHR portfolio MITRE microbiome study and PREMIUM, evaluating neoadjuvant BRAF targeted therapy. She is the NIHR Clinical Research Network National Specialty Lead for Late Phase and International Cancer Trials.
Name:
Dr Astrid van der Veldt
Post-nominal Letters:
MD, PhD, PhD
Job Title:
associate professor
Organisation / Company:
Erasmus Medical Center - Erasmus University Rotterdam
Biography:
Dr Astrid van der Veldt is medical oncologist at Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, a tertiary referral center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After her two PhDs in medical oncology and nuclear medicine, and her clinical training at Amsterdam University Medical Centers and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek-Netherlands Cancer Institute, she was appointed as a medical oncologist at the Departments of Medical Oncology and Radiology & Nuclear Medicine of Erasmus Medical Center. She is the principal investigator in a number of clinical trials and has published on imaging, urogenital cancers, and melanoma. She is also involved in phase-1 clinical trials with cell therapy and radionuclide therapy. She is the chair of various committees, including the Dutch guideline for melanoma, and has received several national and international awards for her research.
Name:
Dr Sali Putt
Job Title:
Skin Cancer Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Organisation / Company:
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
'Sali graduated from the University of York in 2014. She currently works as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner specialising in skin cancer across Mid and East Cheshire within a dermatology service. Sali is currently the Vice-Chair of the British Association of Skin Cancer Specialist Nurses (BASCN.)
Name:
Dr Nicola Thompson
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute
Biography:
Dr Thompson graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2008. She subsequently obtained a research masters from the University of Bristol, focused on tyrosine kinase signalling in glioblastoma, before returning to Nottingham to take up an Academic Clinical Fellowship. She went on to complete a PhD at the University of Cambridge, studying novel synthetic lethal interactions using CRISPR-Cas9 screening technologies, before finishing her specialist training in Cambridge. She is currently a consultant in medical oncology in Cambridge, specialising in the treatment of melanoma and thoracic malignancies.
Biography TBC
Name:
Dr Sarah Watson
Job Title:
Medical oncologist and clinician-scientist
Organisation / Company:
Institut Curie (Paris, France)
Biography:
Sarah Watson is a medical oncologist and clinician-scientist at Institut Curie (Paris, France), with a dual expertise in the clinical management and molecular biology of rare cancers, particularly sarcomas and cancers of unknown primary (CUP). She is a leading specialist in CUP, integrating comprehensive clinical evaluation with advanced genomic and transcriptomic approaches to improve diagnosis and treatment strategies.
Name:
Alison Taylor
Job Title:
Nurse Consultant
Organisation / Company:
Clatterbridge Cancer Centre
Biography:
Alison Taylor is a Nurse Consultant at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre with over 25 years of experience in oncology nursing. Her career spans oncology, haematology, leadership, and advanced clinical practice. She currently leads acute oncology services across Cheshire and Merseyside, supporting cancer patients who become acutely unwell in local hospitals.
A committed advocate for patients with malignancy of unknown origin (MUO) and cancer of unknown primary (CUP), Alison has driven service improvements for this group for more than 13 years. She sits on the board of the UK Acute Oncology Society and chairs it’s MUO subgroup. Her research involvement includes associate principal investigator roles for the CUP COMP and EGG CUP genomic trials. She is also part of the Cheshire and Merseyside urgent cancer care programme board, winners of the 2025 Nursing Times Team of the Year.
Alison recently completed a Churchill Fellowship exploring psychological support for CUP. She is also a member of the World Cancer of Unknown Primary Alliance expert panel and is pursuing a professional doctorate focused on the lived experience of CUP diagnosis.
Name:
Dr Kai-Keen Shiu
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD, FRCP
Job Title:
Consultant in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit and Clinical Lead for the Cancer of Unknown Primary Service
Organisation / Company:
University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Kai-Keen Shiu PhD FRCP is a Consultant in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit and Clinical Lead for the Cancer of Unknown Primary Service at University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Associate Professor at the UCL Cancer Institute.
He qualified at Guys and St Thomas’ Medical School, training in medical oncology at the Royal Free Hospital and UCLH. He completed his PhD in integrative genomic profiling of cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital with Professor Alan Ashworth. He also attained a post-CCT research fellowship at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. He is a member of ASCO, ESMO and the Association of Cancer Physicians UK.
Dr Shiu is an active clinical triallist and is the UK Chief Investigator or Principal Investigator for several GI immuno-oncology trials including KEYNOTE 811 and 859, MATTERHORN, KEYNOTE 177, LEAP 17, KEYSTEP-008, BNT122-01, NOUS-209-01, and Chief Investigator of NEOPRISM-CRC; an investigator-initiated trial of neoadjuvant immunotherapy for patients with operable MMR deficient bowel cancer. He is also the UK Chief Investigator for CUPISCO, a 1st line Phase 2 randomised molecular guided therapy CUP trial.
His translational research interests include targeted treatments and immunotherapy for GI malignancies and CUP, as well as patients with young onset colorectal cancer. He is Chair of the NCRI MUO-CUP Workstream and a member of the NCRI Colorectal Advanced and Adjuvant Disease Subgroup. He is a collaborator in the PEACE (Posthumous tissuE donAtion in CancEr) study, and a member of the Gastrointestinal Oncology and CUP subgroups at the UCL Cancer Institute/Francis Crick Institute. He is the Principal Investigator of the UCL/UCLH Gastrointestinal Cancer and CUP Translational Research Biobank.
Name:
Dr Natalie Cook
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer
Organisation / Company:
Clinical Lecturer at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust/University of Manchester
Biography:
Dr Natalie Cook is a Medical Oncologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust/University of Manchester. She is also the clinical lead for Manchester Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC). She completed her training in Cambridge, UK, where she was also awarded a PhD. In 2015 she completed a two year drug development research fellowship, based at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada. In her current position she is a Principal or Chief Investigator on over 20 trials. She has research interests in CUP, leading a portfolio of clinical trials in this area, and is also interested in clinical trial design, biomarker development and patient experience on clinical trials
Name:
Dr Sonali Dasgupta
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD, FRCP, PG Dip
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Velindre University NHS Trust
Biography:
Dr Sonali Dasgupta is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Velindre University NHS Trust, specialising in Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) and colorectal cancer. She previously pioneered a new acute oncology service in Northern Ireland. Moving back to Wales, she joined as Consultant Oncologist at Velindre University NHS Trust. She is the founder and Clinical Lead of Southeast Wales CUP Service, and CUP as a Cancer Site Group (CSG) within Wales Cancer Network. She represents Wales in the UK CUP Cancer Research working group and as faculty member of international organisation, World CUP Alliance (WCA).
Sonali holds a CRUK-funded PhD in colorectal cancer and has published and presented widely. She’s Principal Investigator on several major international trials and plays an active role in education—mentoring Associate PIs, oncology trainees, medical students, and post-grad pharmacists. She is faculty member of Velindre-led international FRCR course.
Her work has earned national recognition, including the ACCIA National Impact Award, Highly Meritorious certification in Health and Technology (EMWWAA) and multiple staff and patient-nominated excellence awards.
Name:
Tanya Knott
Job Title:
The Founder and Director of the Sarah Jennifer Knott Foundation and Co-Founder of the World CUP Alliance
Biography:
Tanya Knott is the Founder and Director of the Sarah Jennifer Knott Foundation and Co-Founder of the World CUP Alliance. A graduate of King’s College London and Trinity College Dublin, Tanya trained as a registered general nurse, specialising in cardiothoracic, intensive care, and emergency nursing. She also has extensive experience in market access within the pharmaceutical industry.
In 2017, following the diagnosis of her sister Sarah with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP), Tanya recognised a significant gap in awareness, research, and education in this disease area. In response, she established the Sarah Jennifer Knott Foundation to drive advocacy, research, and education for people affected by CUP.
Tanya is also Co-Founder of the World CUP Alliance (WCA), a global initiative that brings together international experts, patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and industry partners to share best practice and collaborate on international research in CUP.
www.worldcupalliance.org
A passionate patient advocate and fundraiser, Tanya has authored published articles and a white paper on The Unmet Needs of Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary and has presented at numerous international conferences. The Sarah Jennifer Knott Foundation through its various fundraising events fund many CUP research projects and initiatives in Ireland and Europe. Tanya is a member of the Molecular Tumour Board Steering Committee at Cancer Trials Ireland and the Sarah Jennifer Knott Foundation is a proud charity member of Precision Oncology Ireland, WCA and WECAN.
Name:
Dr Farook Sarfraz
Post-nominal Letters:
MBBCh MRCGP PGCert. Med. Leadership (Dist.)
Job Title:
GP Specialty doctor in Oncology
Biography:
Farook qualified as a salaried GP in 2022 and alongside his primary care work has developed an extended portfolio role in Oncology. Farook undertook the Welsh Clinical Leadership Fellowship programme in 2021 and worked closely with Wales Cancer Network to evaluate the rapid diagnosis clinic (RDC) pilot projects running across two health boards at the time. As part of the Fellowship he supported the Network and individual Health Boards set up their own RDC project teams and services, bringing together expertise from the pilot projects to create the All Wales RDC Service Implementation Specification and vague symptom national optimal pathway. Following completion of his GP training Farook was appointed to the role of Clinical Lead for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board RDC which launched in 2023. Farook also has an additional role as Specialty Doctor in Oncology, working in Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, where he supports consultant led outpatient lung cancer clinics for patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapies.
Name:
Dr David Chang
Job Title:
Professor of Surgical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Glasgow
Biography:
Dr David Chang is a Reader in Surgery at University of Glasgow. His research focus on the development and implementation of novel therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer particularly around DNA-damage response deficiency, by utilising molecular biomarkers of therapeutic response. Dr Chang undertook his pancreatic surgical fellowship, PhD, and post-doctoral training in Australia. He was recruited to University of Glasgow in 2013, as part of an initiative to implement precision medicine in Scotland and the UK. He co-leads Precision-Panc, a Cancer Research UK precision medicine programme to deliver personalised cancer care for pancreatic cancer, and is the overall translational lead. Dr Chang is also involved in the Precision Promise, a Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (USA) precision medicine initiative. He also contributes to ICGC-ARGO, aiming to shape the future of the next generation cancer genomic projects to ultimately realise the goals and promises of precision medicine.
Clinically Dr Chang is a Consultant Pancreatic Surgeon at the West of Scotland Pancreatic Unit in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a tertiary pancreatic referral centre for the West of Scotland. As a surgeon scientist, he aims to shorten the distance between the bench and the clinic to ensure meaningful and seamless translation.
Name:
Dr Fieke Froeling
Job title:
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology
Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Biography:
Dr Fieke Froeling is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Glasgow with an overall research focus on therapeutic development for pancreatic cancer. Her research aims to understand the complex dynamics of tumour-host interactions in pancreatic cancer, and identify novel therapeutic approaches with candidate biomarkers that can be tested in clinical trials. Clinically, she works as Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer. She is the pancreatic cancer lead of the Glasgow Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, is principal investigator of multiple clinical trials, leads the molecular tumour board for Precision-Panc, and is the UK pancreatic cancer lead in SAMBAI, the CRUK Cancer Inequalities Grand Challenge. Overall, this allows her to focus on developing personalised therapeutic strategies that emanate from discoveries in both basic science and reverse translation from clinical observation.
Name:
Dr Joe Geraghty
Post-nominal Letters:
MBBS (Dist), MRCP, BSc, PhD
Job Title:
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Organisation / Company:
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Joe Geraghty is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, where he has a specialist interest in HPB endoscopy, particularly in the management of malignancy and complicated pancreatitis, since his appointment in 2016. He also holds an Honorary Consultant post in Medical Oncology at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester.
Name:
Dr Fin Slevin
Job Title:
Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Leeds and Leeds Cancer Centre
Biography:
Fin is an Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at University of Leeds and Leeds Cancer Centre. He is a current holder of an NIHR Advanced Fellowship focused on optimising radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Fin is co-chief investigator of the POINTER-PC study, a phase 3 clinical trial of radiotherapy for pelvic nodal recurrence in prostate cancer. His clinical practice is focused on treatment of urological cancers with radiotherapy including with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.
Name:
Professor Kwok-Leung Cheung
Job Title:
Professor of Breast Surgery and Medical Education, and Deputy Head of Education and Director of The BMBS Medicine Programmes
Organisation / Company:
University of Nottingham
Biography:
Professor Kwok-Leung Cheung is Professor of Breast Surgery and Medical Education, and Deputy Head of Education and Director of The BMBS Medicine Programmes at the University of Nottingham. He qualified and trained in Hong Kong, was appointed as Consultant Breast Surgeon, Nottingham University Hospitals in 2001, and is now an Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton. Professor Cheung has clinical and research interests in breast cancer and geriatric oncology. He has served many roles in the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) where he is currently the President-Elect and the UK National Representative. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA), and of the Breast Cancer Clinical Guidelines Committee and the Expert Adviser Panel of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2010, Professor Cheung pioneered the Symposium on Primary Breast Cancer in Older Women in the UK, which has now become a biennial event, hosted by the University under the auspices of SIOG.
Name:
Dr Kirsty Colquhoun
Job Title:
Consultant Geriatrician and General Internal Physician
Organisation / Company:
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Biography:
Kirsty Elaine Colquhoun. Consultant Geriatrician and General Internal Physician at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow Royal Infirmary. With a special interest in acute frailty, falls, oncogeriatrics and surgical frailty.
I was one of the founding members of the Cancer Older Peoples Service in the Beatson, West of Scotland Cancer Centre. For 10 years I developed pathways for older adults living with cancer of all tumour types including inpatient, outpatient, prehabilitation and rehabilitation services. Working alongside McMillan and Maggie's. I have presented nationally and internationally on QI related to oncogeriatric services. For 6 years I was the secretary for the British Geriatrics Society Oncogeriatric specialist interest group: developing national policy, guidelines and educational events. I am currently developing frailty services within Glasgow Royal Infirmary for older adults living with cancer and surgical problems.
Name:
Dr Vanya Slavova-Boneva
Post-nominal Letters:
MRPharmS, PGDipGPP, IP, AFHEA, mBOPA
Job Title:
Specialist Senior Adult Oncology Programme (SAOP) Pharmacist
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Lecturer in Cancer Care at The Royal Marsden School, UK
Biography:
Vanya Slavova-Boneva is a Specialist Senior Adult Oncology Programme (SAOP) Pharmacist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Lecturer in Cancer Care at The Royal Marsden School, UK. She leads clinical pharmacy services within SAOP, working as part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver personalised and holistic care for patients aged ≥70 years with cancer.
She specialised in oncology in 2014, completing a Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice (UCL) and qualifying as an Independent Prescriber in 2019. In 2022, she became the first pharmacist to successfully complete the SIOG Advanced Course in Geriatric Oncology. She recently completed a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship funded by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, focusing on developing innovative digital and non-digital approaches to improve medication safety, adherence, and patient education for older adults with cancer, enhancing their quality of life and treatment experience.
Vanya has extensive experience across haemato-oncology and solid tumours, with research and clinical interests in geriatric oncology, medicine optimisation and polypharmacy. She has published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and contributes to international guidelines, book chapters and best practice papers. She is a regular speaker at national and international conferences including BOPA, SIOG, CPC and UKOF.
She serves as Chair of the BOPA Geriatric Oncology Advisory Group, committee member of the BOPA Research, EDI, and Immunotherapy groups, member of the Royal Marsden Research and Audit Forum and governance committee member of the SIOG Nursing, Allied Health and Scientists Interest Group. She also collaborates internationally through SIOG,CARG, ISOPP and the UK Immuno-Oncology Clinical Network.
Her leadership and research contributions were recognised with the HSJ Patient Safety Award (2024) as part of the Royal Marsden SAOP team for improving care for older people.
Name:
Dr Filipe Coutinho
Job title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Medio Ave Local Health Unit, Portugal.
Biography:
Dr Filipe Coutinho is a Portuguese Consultant Medical Oncologist with a clinical, academic, and organizational profile in geriatric oncology, gastrointestinal malignancies, breast cancer, and palliative care. A Specialist in Medical Oncology since 2017, he subsequently completed postgraduate specialization in Palliative Care in 2019 and in Clinical Geriatrics in 2022. In March 2026, he was awarded both the title of Consultant in Medical Oncology and the Competence in Geriatrics by the Portuguese Medical Association.
He currently serves at Médio Ave Local Health Unit, Portugal, as a Medical Oncologist in the Department of Medical Oncology and as a physician in the Hospital Palliative Care Team, positions he has held since 2018. His clinical practice is focused on the management of colorectal, gastric, and breast cancers, and he is one of the physicians responsible for the hospital’s multidisciplinary gastrointestinal oncology group. He also serves on the hospital’s Oncology Committee, contributing to institutional cancer care strategy and multidisciplinary oncologic governance.
Dr. Coutinho has been building a strong academic career alongside his clinical activity. Since 2021, he has served as Invited Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the Clinical Oncology Module of the integrated master in Medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Beira Interior. He is a pioneer in teaching geriatric oncology at the undergraduate level in Portugal, contributing to the introduction of this area into pre-graduate medical training at his faculty. He is also deeply committed to postgraduate education in oncogeriatrics and, together with the group he leads (Portuguese Geriatric Oncology Working Group), co-created the CIPOG (Course on the Introduction to the Principles of Geriatric Oncology), a pioneering national course designed to promote structured training in geriatric oncology for healthcare professionals.
Internationally, Dr. Coutinho is best known for his leadership in advancing geriatric oncology in Portugal. He is the Founder and Coordinator of the Geriatric Oncology Working Group of the Portuguese Society of Oncology, established in 2020, and has served as Portugal’s National Representative to the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) since 2021. In recognition of his work, he received the SIOG National Representative of the Year Award in 2023. He currently serves as a member of the Young SIOG Board for 2024–2026, with responsibilities linking the Board to the Fellowship and Award Committee and the Membership and National Representatives Committee, while supporting membership growth and mentorship initiatives.
His academic and scientific activities include service on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, Geriatrics, BMC Cancer, and ecancermedicalscience. His principal academic interests include treatment decision-making in older adults with gastrointestinal cancer, supportive and palliative care, and the development of innovative educational strategies in geriatric oncology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Name:
Dr Mark Baxter
Job title:
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Dundee
Biography:
Dr Mark Baxter is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Dundee, primarily treating HPB cancers. He is also a Scottish Chief Scientist Office Early Postdoctoral Fellow with a research focus on utilising electronic healthcare records to improve decision-making and outcomes in older adults with cancer
Name:
Dr Anthony Cunliffe
Job Title / Organisation / Company:
Macmillan National Clinical Adviser for Primary Care
Macmillan Lead Clinical Adviser and Clinical Adviser for London
Joint Clinical Chair, South East London Cancer alliance
Biography:
Anthony Cunliffe has been a GP for 17 years and practises part time in South London. He started working for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2012 as a Macmillan GP Facilitator. He subsequently became a GP Advisor and is now the National Lead Medical Adviser and the Clinical Adviser for London. Anthony is also the joint clinical director for the South East London Cancer Alliance and the Oncology Lead at ORCHA. Anthony has experience of working throughout the cancer pathway having been National Prevention and Diagnosis lead at Macmillan and a GPSI in End of Life Care but his passion is to ensure all people living with cancer receive good quality personalised care.
Name:
Dr Anna Olsson-Brown
Post-nominal Letters:
MBChB (Hons), BSc (Hons), PGDip (Dis), MRCP (UK), MRCP (Onc), PhD
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Sussex Cancer Centre
University of Liverpool
Biography:
Anna Olsson-Brown is a Consultant in Medical Oncology. She specialises in the systemic treatment of skin cancers; immunotherapeutic toxicities, early phase/translational clinical trials and acute oncology. She is the Clinical Director for Clinical Cancer Services at Sussex Cancer Centre and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool. She has a background in clinical pharmacology and an interest in acute oncology and supportive care for cancer patients particularly with regards to toxicity of cancer therapies. She was an MRC research fellow completing her PhD investigating the mechanisms of immunotherapy toxicity and has subsequently published extensively in the area (olsson-brown - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)). She established and led a pan-tumour, pan-regional immunotherapy toxicity service supporting inpatients and outpatients with immunotherapy toxicities and providing a clinical-research interface supporting a number of translational trials prior to her move to Sussex and now leads the service there. She is the current immunotherapy toxicity work stream lead for the NIHR Oncology Translational Research Committee (O-TRC) and has research collaborations with the University of Birmingham, The Royal Marsden and the University of Sheffield. She is also a trustee and board member of UKASCC. She is a founding member and current CEO of the National Immunotherapy Clinical Network (IOCN) and sits on the UK SACT Board within this role. She is also the Toxicity Workstream Co-lead within the UK Acute Oncology Society. She is a current Oncology representative of the Symposium Committee at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, representative on the Association of Cancer Physicians and RCPE new consultant committees and was a founding member and past chair of the National Oncology Collaboration for Trainee Research (NOTCH).
Name:
Dr Sophie Mitchinson
Job Title:
Barts Health NHS Trust
Organisation / Company:
Emergency Medicine Consultant
Biography:
Sophie is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at Barts Health NHS Trust, based at The Royal London Hospital. She is the Clinical Lead for the Physician Response Unit, a rapid response car service staffed by a senior Emergency Medicine Clinician, alongside an ambulance clinician, often with a Emergency Department nurse, which aims to deliver treatments and interventions in the community that are traditionally only found within the hospital environment. The service aims to deliver patient-centred, holistic care, ensuring patients are treated in the right place, at the right time, the first time. She is also a doctor for Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surry Sussex and a Senior Medical Advisor for South East Coast Ambulance NHS Trust.
Name:
Dr Juliette Lewis-Jones
Job Title:
Consultant Geriatrician
Organisation / Company:
University Hospital of Wales
Biography:
I am a Consultant Geriatrician with a Special Interest in Cancer in Older People. In 2022, I was the first OncoGeriatrician appointed in Wales. I am the Clinical Lead for the Malignancy of Unknown Origin Service in Cardiff & Vale UHB and also work in the Acute Oncology Service and Rapid Diagnosis Clinic at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. I have been fortunate to secure a grant from the Moondance Cancer Initiative to launch a specialist multidisciplinary Geriatric Oncology Service in Cardiff and Vale UHB in 2026.
Name:
Dr Joanne Bird
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Nurse Consultant in Melanoma and Immunotherapy
Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Organisation / Company:
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
University of Sheffield
Biography:
Jo Bird is a Nurse Consultant in Melanoma and Immunotherapy Late Effects at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield. She maintains a clinical academic career having completed an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship exploring the supportive care needs of melanoma patients and their carers. Prior to this Jo was a Clinical Research Nurse working in a variety of cancer sites and early phase trials with a focus on melanoma. She is now researching the long-term effects of immunotherapy alongside her clinical practice as part of the Late Effects Team in Sheffield who won the Ingrid Fuchs Award for Cancer Nursing at the 2024 Nursing Times Awards. The team were also finalists for The King’s Award for Integrated Care and Team of the Year and Jo was also a finalist for Cancer Nurse of the Year at the British Journal of Nursing Awards in 2024.
Name:
Dr Mary Tanay
Job Title:
Consultant Nurse in Genomics
Organisation / Company:
Berkshire Cancer Centre-Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Mary Tanay is a Macmillan Consultant Nurse in Genomics at Berkshire Cancer Centre-Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, President of the UK Oncology Nursing Society, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, Faculty of Nursing Midwifery and Palliative Care.
Name:
Ms Linda Sherwood
Job Title:
Colorectal Cancer Specialist Nursing Service
Organisation / Company:
Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
Biography:
Linda graduated from the Department of Nursing Studies at The University of Edinburgh in 1998, having moved from her intended pathway of English Literature, to pursue a career in oncology nursing. She has dedicated her career to improving care for people living with colorectal cancer in both a clinical and research capacity.
Following a Macmillan Cancer-funded fellowship, Linda developed specialist expertise in colorectal cancer nursing through a range of clinical and research roles. She completed her PhD at The University of Edinburgh in 2020, exploring realistic hope within the colorectal liver resection pathway.
Linda is currently Team Lead for the Colorectal Cancer Specialist Nursing Team at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre. She received the Bowel Cancer UK Gary Logue Award in 2022 and joined the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) Board as Joint Communications Lead in 2023.
Linda also contributes to academic and professional development through participation in a local Clinical Academic Partnership at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, clinical supervision for the MSc in Clinical Trials at The University of Edinburgh, and external examining within the School of Nursing at The University of Edinburgh.
Name:
Ms Lauren Dollive
Job Title:
An Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Organisation / Company:
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Lauren is a Macmillan Transformation Lead, working across South Yorkshire to embed personalised care in cancer pathways. An Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ACP) with 20 years’ experience in oncology, acute and primary care, she combines clinical insight with system leadership. Passionate about equity, co-production and improvement, Lauren is also Vice Chair of the RCN Cancer Forum, influencing national policy and professional standards.
Name:
Dr John McGrane
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Royal Cornwall Hospital
Biography:
Dr John McGrane has been working as a consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital since 2014. He is the clinical lead for radiotherapy at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and specialises in radiotherapy and systemic anti-cancer treatment of urological and gynaecological cancers.
Alongside his clinical practice he is actively involved in recruiting into clinical trials in urological and gynaecological cancers at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. He is UK Chief Investigator in the IMReal urothelial immunotherapy study on TMG of several gynaecological trials. He is Principal Investigator for over 20 urology and gynaecology clinical.
He is co-founder of the UK Renal Oncology Collaboration looking at RWE in renal cancer.
Dr McGrane is an expert in digital health solutions for cancer patient follow up and care. In 2018 he co-founded the award winning MySunrise cancer patient support app. This is now live throughout the South West and West Midlands.
Name:
Professor Benjamin Fairfax
Post-nominal Letters:
BM BCh PhD MRCP
Job Title:
Associate Professor
Hon. Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
University of Oxford
Biography:
I did my PhD at the MRC-LMCB, UCL completing this in 2003 and then completed my clinical training in Oxford.
I was accepted onto the Oxford Academic Foundation programme and, having become interested in human genetics, took time away from clinical training to gain postdoctoral experience. I was awarded a Wellcome MB-PhD postdoctoral Fellowship and I did this in Julian Knight's group at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics.
Upon completion of this I specialised in Medical Oncology. I see skin cancer patients as a Consultant in the Oxford Cancer Centre. I am co-lead for Immunology on the NIHR Oncology Translational Research Group.
Name:
Dr Andrew Furness
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Royal Marsden Hospital
Biography:
Dr Andrew Furness is Consultant Medical Oncologist based at the Royal Marsden Hospital. He treats patients with cancers of the skin and kidney and leads clinical research in solid tumour cellular therapy in a pan tumour manner. He is a Team Leader and Clinical Lead of the Centre for Translational Immunotherapy at the Institute of Cancer Research, where his research interests lie in translational immunology and cell-based immunotherapy. He leads the Solid Tumour Cellular Therapy subgroup of the British Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, acts as faculty member of the European Society for Medical Oncology Tumour Immunology and Immunotherapy and Investigational Immunotherapy groups. He is motivated to expand the reach of immunotherapy to a greater fraction of patients with solid tumours and hopes to achieve this through cell-based approaches and a better understanding of the biology underlying response and resistance to existing approaches.
Name:
Dr David König
Job title:
Swiss board-certified medical oncologist
Organisation
Royal Marsden Hospital
Biography:
I am a Swiss board-certified medical oncologist. My areas of expertise are thoracic tumours. My research interest includes immunotherapy, specifically cellular immunotherapy (therapy using tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes), and targeted therapy in NSCLC. My focus is on clinical research. I am currently working as a research fellow in the Lung Unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, UK, and previously worked at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland.
Name:
Dr Rebecca Lee
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Rebecca Lee is a senior lecturer in medical oncology at The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and a Wellcome early career fellow. Her PhD examined precision medicine approaches to melanoma treatment supervised by Professor Richard Marais and Professor Paul Lorigan. This was followed by work examining how local and systemic immune tolerance is induced through interaction between melanoma and cells within the liver microenvironment as a post-doc clinical fellow in the laboratories of Prof Erik Sahai and Prof Mala Maini. She also has developed a number of translational clinical trials aiming to improve outcomes for patients with melanoma. She has now opened her own laboratory at The University of Manchester focusing on tumour-host interactions with a particular interest in liver metastase
Name:
Dr Miranda Payne
Post-nominal Letters:
DPhil
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Miranda Payne is a Consultant in Medical Oncology with expertise in the systemic treatment of melanoma, the consequences of immunotherapy, the multidisciplinary management of mucosal melanoma and cancer vaccine clinical trials. Miranda took a first in Physiology from Oxford University, completed clinical training in 1999 and was awarded a CRUK Clinical Fellowship in 2006, leading to a DPhil in Medical Oncology. Miranda has been an Oncology Consultant for over a decade. She is passionate about advancing cancer treatments through innovative and ethical research and overcoming barriers to trial participation. She is a previous Medical Oncology Training Programme Director and Clinical Lead for her department, was an elected member of the National Cancer Research Institute Skin Group, is a co-author of the NICE-accredited national UK guidelines for the management of Ano-uro-genital Mucosal and Head & Neck Mucosal Melanoma, is a Trustee of Melanoma Focus, previously chairing the Melanoma Focus patient guide and now their medical advisory committee, and has been an editor of the Oxford Handbook of Oncology for over 20 years.
Name:
Mr Hassan Malik
Job Title:
Consultant Surgeon
Organisation / Company:
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust
Biography:
Mr Hassan Malik is a Consultant Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation trust. He is a surgical oncologist with an extensive hepatobiliary and retroperitoneal sarcoma operative experience, having performed in excess of 1000 liver resections to date. He obtained his medical degree from Glasgow University in 1992. He passed the FRCS exam in 1996 and was awarded a M.D from the University of Glasgow in 2000. He is a fellow of the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Mr Malik has also led development of an active research programme that has links to University of Liverpool; the Liverpool clinical Trials Unit; MRC centre for drug safety; Royal Liverpool University hospital; Clatterbridge and the Christie Oncology hospitals. He has supervised a number of PhD and MD students and has in excess of 150 publications within his field of interest. He was awarded an associate professorship from the University of Liverpool in 2019.
Mr Malik is also past-chair of the NCRN Upper GI group as well as past-president of the British Association of Surgical Oncology and President Elect of the European Society of Surgical Oncology, as well as associate editor of the European Journal of Surgical Oncology.
Name:
Dr Alexa Childs
Job Title:
Postdoctoral Clinical Research Fellow & Honorary Medical Oncology Consultant
Organisation / Company:
Institute of Immunity and Transplantation (UCL) & Royal Free Hospital, London
Biography:
Dr Alexa Childs is a Postdoctoral Clinical Research Fellow at the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation (UCL) and Honorary Medical Oncology Consultant at the Royal Free Hospital, London. She specialises in the management of patients with HCC with a focus on experimental medicine and early phase trials.
Name:
Dr Tim Cross
Job Title:
Consultant Hepatologist
Organisation / Company:
Royal Liverpool Hospital
Biography:
Dr Tim Cross qualified from St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School in 1996. He undertook general gastroenterology on the Northeast Thames rotation and underwent hepatology training, at Kings College Hospital, Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge and the Royal Free Hospital. He was as a consultant in the Southwest Liver Unit, Plymouth before taking up a post in Liverpool in 2012. He has an interest in hepatocellular carcinoma, prognostic models of liver disease, the impact of frailty on disease and translational research.
He is a past president of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) and a honorary associate Professor at the University of Liverpool, in the department of molecular and clinical oncology.
Name:
Ms Barbara Fiore
Post-nominal Letters:
IHPBA
Job Title:
Consultant in liver transplantation and Hepatobiliary surgery
Organisation / Company:
St James’s University Hospital, Leeds
Biography:
I am a consultant in liver transplantation and Hepatobiliary surgery.
I graduated from Medical School in Milan in 2008 and completed my specialist training in General Surgery in Milan in 2015.
I have completed a IHPBA recognised 2 year fellowship in HPB surgery and liver transplant in Dublin, followed by further 2 year fellowship in Leeds. I have also completed a Diplome Interuniversitaire in Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Techniques in Paris in 2014.
Since 2019 I have been working Leeds as a consultant in adult and paediatric liver transplantation as well as Hepatobiliary surgery.
My main interest is in live donor liver transplant and transplant oncology.
Name:
Dan Monnery
Job Title:
consultant in palliative medicine and clinical lead
Organisation / Company:
Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool, UK
Biography:
Dan Monnery is a consultant in palliative medicine and clinical lead for palliative and supportive care at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool, UK. He is the sitting president of the UK Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (UKASCC). His clinical work focusses on early symptom intervention through integration of early palliative care services in treatable but not curable cancer. Dan’s academic interest is in development service models and quantitative outcome measures from palliative care interventions.
Name:
Lucy Eldridge
Post-nominal Letters:
MSc RD
Job Title:
Head of Nutrition & Dietetics and Associate Lead of Therapies
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Lucy Eldridge is the Head of Nutrition & Dietetics and Associate Lead of Therapies at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust (RMH), this includes clinical, operational and strategic responsibilities and has worked there since 2011. She continues to work clinically across the tumour groups. Prior to joining RMH she worked for 15 years at Barts and the London NHS Trust working within the field of Oncology and Palliative care. As part of this role she also set up and developed the dietetic service at St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney. She has an MSc in Cancer Care. In 2023 she was awarded the IBEX fellowship award by the British Dietetic Association for her contribution to the field of clinical nutrition and oncology.
Currently she is the Alliance Officer for the British Dietetic Association (BDA) Oncology Specialist Group, having previously been the chair, Education officer and treasurer over the past 9 years. She works on national initiatives with National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), World Cancer Research Fund and Macmillan, and represented dietetics on the ACCEnD program. She is the co chair of the Professionals work stream for the Cancer and Nutrition NIHR infrastructure collaboration.
She has worked with charities and other agencies updating and designing patient literature and guidelines. She has spoken at local, national and international conferences on a variety of topics relating to cancer and/or palliative care. She has written articles and chapters on nutrition, cancer and palliative care, and a chapter on the psychosocial influences on food choice of cancer patients.
Name:
Professor Helen Jones
Job Title:
Chair of Clinical Exercise Physiology (CEP)-UK and Research Group Lead for Cardiovascular Health
Organisation / Company:
Liverpool John Moores University
Biography:
Professor Helen Jones is Chair of Clinical Exercise Physiology (CEP)-UK and Research Group Lead for Cardiovascular Health Science at Liverpool John Moores University. She leads a world-leading programme of research focused on exercise, healthspan and secondary prevention, with a strong emphasis on embedding exercise across cancer care pathways.
She was a contributing member of the expert group that developed the new Macmillan Cancer Support guidelines for cancer prehabilitation and is currently leading a service evaluation of exercise prehabilitation during treatment for people with stage 4 liver cancer. Professor Jones also runs the LJMU Clinical Exercise Physiology Clinic, delivering specialist exercise services for people living with complex and long-term conditions while providing high-quality clinical training placements.
She has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers, attracts substantial competitive research funding, and has supervised more than 30 PhD candidates. Professor Jones is internationally recognised for establishing Clinical Exercise Physiologists as a regulated healthcare profession in the UK and for developing the national CEP master’s accreditation framework. She was recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Academy for Healthcare Science for her contribution to workforce development and patient care.
Name:
Dr Anna Olsson-Brown
Post-nominal Letters:
MBChB (Hons), BSc (Hons), PGDip (Dis), MRCP (UK), MRCP (Onc), PhD
Job Title:
Consultant in Medical Oncology
Organisation / Company:
Sussex Cancer Centre
University of Liverpool
Biography:
Anna Olsson-Brown is a Consultant in Medical Oncology. She specialises in the systemic treatment of skin cancers; immunotherapeutic toxicities, early phase/translational clinical trials and acute oncology. She is the Clinical Director for Clinical Cancer Services at Sussex Cancer Centre and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool. She has a background in clinical pharmacology and an interest in acute oncology and supportive care for cancer patients particularly with regards to toxicity of cancer therapies. She was an MRC research fellow completing her PhD investigating the mechanisms of immunotherapy toxicity and has subsequently published extensively in the area (olsson-brown - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)). She established and led a pan-tumour, pan-regional immunotherapy toxicity service supporting inpatients and outpatients with immunotherapy toxicities and providing a clinical-research interface supporting a number of translational trials prior to her move to Sussex and now leads the service there. She is the current immunotherapy toxicity work stream lead for the NIHR Oncology Translational Research Committee (O-TRC) and has research collaborations with the University of Birmingham, The Royal Marsden and the University of Sheffield. She is also a trustee and board member of UKASCC. She is a founding member and current CEO of the National Immunotherapy Clinical Network (IOCN) and sits on the UK SACT Board within this role. She is also the Toxicity Workstream Co-lead within the UK Acute Oncology Society. She is a current Oncology representative of the Symposium Committee at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, representative on the Association of Cancer Physicians and RCPE new consultant committees and was a founding member and past chair of the National Oncology Collaboration for Trainee Research (NOTCH).
Name:
Dr Rebecca Muirhead
Post-nominal Letters:
MBChB MRCP MD FRCR
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Oxford University Hospitals
Biography:
Rebecca led the national implementation of Anal and Rectal IMRT which are now routinely delivered across the UK and the gold standard within prospective trials. As deputy chair of the UK SABR Consortium she has led the development of national pelvic SABR reirradiation guidelines and is leading the national audit of this technique. Her research interests are personalised radiotherapy and reirradiation. She is currently a member of the ESTRO Reirradiation Focus Group and the ReCOG Lower GI reirradiation Group. She is a CI, co-CI, TMG or DMEC member, RTTQA reviewer or safety committee member for a number of UK trials such as ART, PLATO, CEDAR, PRIME, HALT, ELECTRA. She has over 50 peer reviewed articles published in international journals which can be reviewed at:
Name:
Dr Ragu Ratnakumaran
Post-nominal Letters:
PhD
Job Title:
Clinical Oncology Registrar
Organisation / Company:
The Institute of Cancer Research
Biography:
I am a Clinical Oncology Registrar in London. I recently completed my PhD at the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. My research focused on identifying predictors of late urinary toxicity and sexual dysfunction following stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for localised prostate cancer, using clinical trial data including the PACE trials. My research interest including exploring drivers of late toxicity following SBRT for both localised and oligometastatic disease.
Name:
Dr Carmel Anandadas
Job Title:
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Carmel Anandadas is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist specialising in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. She is the technical breast radiotherapy lead at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. She is the clinical lead for the breast proton service at The Christie Proton Beam Therapy Centre. Carmel is the chief clinical co-ordinator of the FAST Forward boost trial and is a co-investigator on the UK PARABLE study. She is principal investigator/radiotherapy lead at The Christie for the KORTUC, ATNEC and SMALL studies.
Name:
Dr Séan O’Cathail
Job Title:
Consultant Radiation Oncologist
Senior Research Fellow
Organisation / Company:
Cork University Hospital
University of Glasgow
Biography:
Dr Séan O’Cathail is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at Cork University Hospital and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He previously held an academic post at the Beatson Cancer Centre, Glasgow, where he co-led the clinical radiation research work package at the CRUK RadNet Centre of Excellence.
He graduated with honours from University College Cork in 2008 and completed his core medical training in Ireland before moving to the UK for specialist oncology training. He earned an MSc in Oncology from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and a PhD from the University of Oxford for his research on radioresistance in rectal cancer. He is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Physicians of London.
His research focuses on anorectal cancers, radiosensitisation strategies and stereotactic body radiotherapy, particularly in oligometastatic disease and pelvic re-irradiation. He has led multiple early and late-phase clinical trials and published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
He is actively involved in national and international oncology networks and has presented at major oncology conferences. He also contributes to editorial and peer-review activities for leading oncology journals.
Name:
Dr Lisa Pickering
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist, Renal and Skin Cancers
Associate Medical Director for Strategy
Organisation / Company:
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Biography:
Dr Lisa Pickering is a Consultant Medical Oncologist who specialises in the treatment of cancers of the urinary tract; prostate cancer, bladder cancer, penile cancer, ureteric cancer and renal cancer.
Dr Pickering qualified in Medicine from at the Universities of Oxford (1989-1992) and London (1992-1995). She trained in Medical Oncology at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ and St. George’s Hospitals and was awarded a PhD from the University of London in 2007.
She was appointed as a Consultant Medical Oncologist at St. George’s Hospital and the Royal Marsden in 2008. In 2011 she became Clinical Lead for Oncology at St. George’s and in 2015 was appointed Chair of the Division of Medicine and Cardiovascular Sciences. She is research lead for urology at St. George’s and is a member of the UK National Clinical Study Groups for penile, renal and bladder cancers. In these roles she is involved in participating and leading numerous clinical and translational research protocols.
Name:
Dr Will Ince
Job Title:
GU/Head and Neck oncologist
Affiliated Assistant Professor
Organisation / Company:
Addenbrookes, University of Cambridge
Biography:
I am a GU/Head and Neck oncologist at Addenbrookes and an Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge. I am research lead for urological malignancies and have an interest in all phase clinical trials. I have a particular interest in vaccine combination and monotherapy trials and have been chief and principal investigator in multiple trials both in the perioperative and metastatic settings. I have a link with a large internationally renowned translational biology laboratory with a specific focus on tumour epithelioids. Together with colleagues nationally I have been part of policy advisory committees trying to shape the future of vaccine delivery strategy nationally.
Name:
Dr Praveena Idaikkadar
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
the Royal Marsden Hospital
Biography:
Dr Praveena Idaikkadar is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, specialising in the treatment of Renal and Skin cancers and Acute Oncology.
Praveena completed her undergraduate medical training at the University of Cambridge, where she also undertook an intercalated BSc in Pathology. Following completion of Internal Medicine Training in London, she undertook specialist Medical Oncology training at The Royal Marsden where she was appointed a Consultant in 2024.
Praveena was awarded an MD(res) degree from the University of Surrey following a lab based translational research project. Her research interests include novel therapeutics and understanding treatment toxicities and she has acted as Principal or Sub-Investigator on a number of clinical trials.
Praveena has a passion for medical education and serves as the Trust Co-Lead for Medical Oncology Training and Education and serves in a number of national RCP Education roles.
Name:
Dr Simon Grumett
Post-nominal Letters:
BSc MB ChB MRCP PhD
Job Title:
Medical oncologist
Organisation / Company:
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
Biography:
Dr Simon Grumett BSc MB ChB MRCP PhD is a medical oncologist with over 20 years’ experience in treating urological, skin and colorectal cancers. He has previously been Clinical Director and Cancer Lead Clinician at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust and is presently based at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust where he is the Training Program Director for Medical Oncology in the West Midlands. When not manacled to the NHS he has an interest in mindfulness, eastern philosophy and triathlon.
Name:
Dr Naveen Vasudev
Job title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation:
University of Leeds / St James’s Institute of Oncology (St James’s University Hospital, Leeds)
Biography:
Dr Vasudev trained in Medical Oncology at the St James’s Institute of Oncology, Leeds. His doctoral research was conducted in the Clinical and Biomedical Proteomics Group in Leeds, focusing on biomarker discovery in renal cancer. This was followed by a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden Hospital, London. He returned in 2013 to take up his current post as Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant at the University of Leeds/St James's Institute of Oncology. His clinical expertise is in the treatment of patients with urological malignancies, including bladder, prostate and renal cancer.
Name:
Professor Russell Petty
Post-nominal Letters:
BMSc MB ChB PhD MRCP(UK) MRCPE FRCP
Job Title:
Chair of Medical Oncology
Director of Tayside Medical Science Centre(TASC)
Organisation / Company:
Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee
Biography:
Professor Russell Petty is Chair of Medical Oncology and Deputy Head of the Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine at the University of Dundee. He leads a research programme in clinical and translational cancer medicine focused upon oesophageal and gastric cancer involving both laboratory research developing precision medicine approaches and investigating mechanisms of drug resistance , as well as early and late phase clinical trials. His government and professional advisory roles include to the Chief Medical Officer in Scotland, Scottish Parliament, Chief Scientist in Scotland, National Cancer Research Institute, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, Scottish Medicines Consortium, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, European Society of Medical Oncology, International Gastric Cancer Association and International Cancer Genome Consortium-ARGO. Professor Petty has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, including in high impact journals such as The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Nature Genetics.
Name:
Dr Janet Graham
Job Title:
Consultant Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Biography:
Dr Janet Graham
Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, UK
Dr Graham is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre where she treats colon, pancreas and upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Along with being GI team lead, her main focus is on maximising patient opportunities to take part in clinical trials; she is chief or principle investigator on a number of early and later phase clinical trials. Dr Graham is also Clinical Lead for the West of Scotland Colorectal Cancer Managed Clinical Network and she currently chairs the NCRI Adjuvant and Advanced Colorectal Subgroup. She is a medical advisor to Bowel Cancer UK and advises NICE and SMC on new medicines in GI indications. She sits on a number of trial management groups including FOCUS 4, ADD ASPIRIN, ARIEL, FoxTROT 2&3 and leads the PRIMUS 001 trial in the UK, which is part of the PRECISION PANC platform. She is on the faculty for Oncology Forum, where she co-chairs the upper GI session. Dr Graham has worked hard over recent years to ensure equitable access to BRAF, RAS and MSI testing for colorectal patients along with HER2 testing for gastric cancer. She has a key role in education at the Beatson where she is the lead trainer for IMTs, and she also supports the undergraduate programme and is clinical supervisor for medical oncology trainees in GI cancers.
Name:
Dr Filippo Pietrantonio
Job Title:
Medical Oncologist
Organisation / Company:
Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori
Biography:
Filippo Pietrantonio is a Medical Oncologist and the Head of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy. He leads a team focused on developing new therapies for gastrointestinal cancers and identifying resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and novel agents. One of his major career accomplishments is the generation of a “school” of oncologists dedicated to translational and clinical research at INT and collaborating with INT researchers and several institutions worldwide. His fellows have constantly attended international institutions during their education/training and are now leading several projects and trials as PIs.
He is Principal Investigator for more than 100 currently active profit and non-profit trials and is Chair or member of the Steering Committee of several national and international clinical trials. He is an author of more than 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals and H-Index of 60 (at the age of 44 years), he sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Fondazione GONO GI (non-profit organization dedicated to the design of non-profit trials), and founder of ENGIC European Collaborative trial network. He is the Editorial Lead of the GI Section of Annals of Oncology. He contributed to the organization on committees for different conferences, including the ESMO Annual Meeting (2024 Upper GI, 2025 as Upper GI Track Chair, 2026 Upper GI), ESMO Asia (2026 GI), and ASCO (Lower GI 2026-2028). He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology from 2021 to 2025 and coordinates the Italian guidelines for esophageal cancer. His main contributions are: 1)Design of > 15 no profit clinical trials aimed at improving the clinical practice for GI cancers, including but not limited to NCT07407465 (CHIMERA, metastatic colorectal cancer), NCT06253650 (TRINITY, early gastric cancer), NCT06037980 (PURITY, early biliary tract cancer), NCT05845450 (UNICORN, early colorectal cancer), NCT05594290 (early Merkel cell carcinoma), NCT05031975 (Eraze-TMZ, colorectal cancer), NCT05136326 (CATARTIC, locally advanced rectal cancer), NCT04689347 (FLIRT-bev, advanced colorectal cancer), NCT03832621 (MAYA, advanced colorectal cancer), NCT02476045 (VALENTINO, advanced colorectal cancer), NCT02934464 (ARMANI, phase III, advanced gastric cancer), NCT02414009 (CAPTEM, advanced colorectal cancer), NCT02086656 (COI-B, advanced colorectal cancer). Some of these trials impacted current clinical guidelines and practice, such as maintenance therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, treatment algorithms in gastric cancer, including curative immunotherapy, and molecular profiling of GI tumors, identifying novel actionable subgroups, such as POLE mutations and gene fusions. More recently, he focused on the design of window-of-opportunity and neoadjuvant trials in GI tumors, to provide immediate innovation for patients with curable disease and establish platforms for multinational collaborations in translational research. 2)After showing that MSI is a robust prognostic marker in patients with resectable primary gastric cancer (JCO 2019), he designed the first study aimed at demonstrating that organ preservation is possible, feasible and, since 2023, NCCN-guideline recommended in patients with MSI gastric cancer treated with immunotherapy/pharmacological ablation (NCT04817826, INFINITY trial: Raimondi et al Ann Oncol 2025 and planned plenary presentation at AACR 2026 by Leone Alberto Giovanni). 3) He also contributed greatly to identifying the biological bases of resistance to trastuzumab-based therapy for HER2+ gastric cancer, with a great support from the AIRC-funded project "Moving forward from single-agent trastuzumab thanks to a reverse translational approach in HER2+ advanced gastric cancer". He is now working on assessing resistance mechanisms to the new antibody-drug conjugates within the 2024 AIRC-funded project “Actioning the resistance mechanisms to different antibody-drug conjugates in gastric cancer” 4) He focused on underserved minority studying the role of gender medicine, and cancer in patients at risk of discrimination, such as transgender or HIV+ people (JAMA Oncology 2023).
Name:
Dr Jessie Elliott
Post-nominal Letters:
MB BCh BAO BA PhD FRCS
Job Title:
Jessie Elliott MB BCh BAO BA PhD FRCS
Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon and Academic Lead
Organisation / Company:
National Centre for Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer,
Trinity St. James's Cancer Institute St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Biography:
Jessie Elliott is an Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon and Academic Lead at the National Centre for Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer, Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute in Dublin, focused on treating patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer. She has a special interest in cancer survivorship and clinical trials. She studied at Trinity College Dublin and completed a PhD in translational medicine at University College Dublin, investigating novel strategies to enhance nutrition in cancer survivorship, before completing surgical training in Ireland. She undertook international fellowships in robotic upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery at the University Medical Centre, Utrecht, the Netherlands, and in gastric cancer surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, South Korea. She has led the development of a clinical and translational research programme in oesophageal and gastric cancer survivorship at the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute. Current projects include the international multicentre SARONG-II RCT in upper gastrointestinal cancer surveillance and the IMPROVE study investigating the application of liquid biopsy in oesophagogastric cancer. She is an ICAT programme supervisor, and has received a number of awards for her work including the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and American College of Surgeons International Scholarship, European Society for Diseases of the Esophagus Fellowship, a Health Research Board Research Fellowship, the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland Medal, an Irish Cancer Society Clinician Research Development Fellowship and Clinician Research Leadership Award, and an American Society of Clinical Oncology Conquer Cancer Award. She holds a number of leadership positions including Vice Chair of the UK and Ireland Oesophagogastric Cancer Research Group and Editor of Diseases of the Esophagus journal. She is passionate about promoting clinical-academic collaborations to deliver world-class transformative research in Surgery and Cancer to generate innovative solutions to complex clinical problems.
Name:
Professor Richard Sullivan
Job Title:
Professor of Cancer & Global Health
Organisation / Company:
King’s College London
Biography:
Richard Sullivan is Professor of Cancer & Global Health at King’s College London. He is the Director of the Institute of Cancer Policy and Co-Director of the Centre of Conflict & Health Security. Richard is an NCD advisor to the World Health Organisation and currently leads the World Bank Group’s cancer strategy. Richard is a Fellow with the Centre for Global Development and UK representative to the WHO International Agency for Research’s Scientific Council. He works on a wide range of global oncology research areas, including cancer systems strengthening, the political economy of cancer, pharmaceutical policy, and global cancer surgery. In conflict and health security, Richard has led major health systems-strengthening programs in conflict-affected ecosystems, especially in the Middle East. The Centre for Conflict & Health Security focuses on highly securitised research areas, including bio-hybrid warfare, CBRN threats, high-threat infectious diseases, and the development of health intelligence. Richard trained in surgical oncology (urology) and combined this with a laboratory drug-discovery program. His PhD in Biochemistry from University College London focused on cell signalling pathways in cancer. Richard’s group was one of the first to work on targeting the EGFR receptor. He was Clinical Director of Cancer Research UK for nearly a decade, leading the charity’s clinical strategy, and was the past Director of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs. He currently chairs several high-level groups focused on health security threats.