Clinical Research Delivery Conference: Speakers

Anne is the Lead Research Nurse at Cancer Research UK, providing strategic and operational leadership for a team of 15 senior research nurses based across the UK. Anne qualified as a nurse in 1994, and after several ward-based roles, she discovered a passion for research nursing. Anne is passionate about the value of research nursing in providing excellence in patient care and improving outcomes for cancer patients and their families.

Alison is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at Barts Cancer Institute, practising clinically at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Alison is the UK’s only oncologist to be dual trained in gender identity medicine and leads the UK Cancer and Transition Service, a world first national clinic to integrate local oncology and gender affirming care or transgender and gender diverse people in the UK. Her research focuses on investigating the role of sex, gender and sexual orientation in cancer predisposition and outcomes.

Hania is a clinical research training fellow working on machine learning for medical image analysis in liver cancer. Hania studied medicine at the University of Cambridge before moving on to Specialty Training in Radiology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Hania is currently undertaking her PhD at the Early Cancer Institute in Cambridge, working under the supervision of Dr Mireia Crispin and Dr Matthew Hoare. Her research focuses on computational analysis of radiology images (in particular CT and MRI) and integrating them with other modalities (including pathology and genomic data) to develop better risk stratification techniques for patients with chronic liver disease and improve early detection of liver cancer. 

Adwoa is a National Institute of Health Research Advanced Fellow and Associate Professor at The University of York. Adwao is a trial methodologist and leads the Trial Forge Studies Within A Trial (SWATs) Centre at the University of York. Adwoa’s research aims to facilitate better methods for better research, better health care and better health. 

Sandie worked in cancer research in Oxford for 23 years before moving to the Trust-wide lead role. Sandie led three research nursing and data teams, the sample handling lab, the early phase research ward and the trial administration team, while also teaching post graduate students and holding a tissues sample collection. Sandie is as Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse.

Evelyn is the Associate Chief Nurse for R&I at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, overseeing the clinical research delivery workforce and forming part of the trust's corporate nursing team. She is also part of the Senior Research Leaders Programme with the NIHR.

Cherry is a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse and a key member of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre. Cherry plays a vital role in connecting research efforts across the country. At the Cambridge Centre, Cherry leads the Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Programme, fostering collaboration and professional development among healthcare staff. She also co-leads the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre's Patient and Public Involvement Group, ensuring that patient perspectives are integrated into research design and implementation. 

Rebecca is the Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse for Oxford. Rebecca has a specialist interest in patient-reported outcomes, burden of treatment and patient experience. She completed her DPhil in 2023, exploring outcomes, burdens and experiences of patients receiving immunotherapy for their cancer. At Oxford she works closely with researchers in Oxford Cancer, part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Oncology, to deliver digital trials, such as My Melanoma, and supports the patient and participant engagement and involvement objectives of the centre.

Amparo is a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse at University College London Hospital, with a passion for workforce development, including the promotion of the CRN role and career pathway development. She has a special interest in research engagement and patient and public involvement initiatives and is working on different local projects to promote the participation in cancer clinical trials of patients from different ethnic backgrounds.

Ruth is a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse in the NI Cancer Trials Network (NICTN) and Belfast Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre. Ruth is the NICTN Deputy Director and lead for Personal and Public Involvement and Engagement. 

Maria is a Lead Oncology Research Nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Maria specialises in immunotherapy, Anti-Drug Conjugated therapies and novel treatments, particularly in phase I and II combination trials. She leads the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) group at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC). With a focus on promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within clinical trials, and facilitates the delivery of high-quality clinical trials within the ECMC network and beyond. 

Jo is a Cancer Research UK Senior Research nurse focusing on staff education, leadership and patient engagement. In 2022, Jo won the RCN Excellence in Cancer Research Nursing award for her role in designing and delivering a 4-day educational programme for staff new to clinical research, which continues bi-annually. She facilitates Resilience Based Clinical Supervision for staff in her unit. 

Karen is the team lead for the nursing team at the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham and works closely with CR-UK locally and nationally. Karen's work involves promoting Cancer Research UK and cancer trials awareness among healthcare professionals, patients and the public in many innovative ways.

Ruth is a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse in Liverpool. Ruth has been a clinical research nurse for many years, initially working at St Mark’s Hospital Polyposis Registry. This was followed by research nurse posts in at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Lancashire Teaching Hospital.

Lois is a Lead Research Nurse within the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Nurse. She is a Biosafety Practitioner on NHS Lothian’s Advanced Therapies Genetic Modification Safety Committee. She works to develop and support the Edinburgh Cancer Centre’s Patient and Public Involvement Group and works within the Experimental Cancer Medicines Centres Nursing Steering Committee. Lois has worked for many years within Oncology and Haematology, and for 10 years, she worked in the Haematology team, developing and delivering a wide portfolio of clinical research studies.