Clinical Research Training Fellowship Project: The VIGILANCE study: developing imaging and circulating biomarkers towards personalised radiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer
High-quality prospective clinical data has already been collected from patients with LA-NSCLC undergoing curative-intent radiotherapy within the MCRC’s VIGILANCE study. Study data includes innovative cell-free DNA (cfDNA) biomarkers together with radiomic biomarkers from routine imaging captured at multiple timepoints throughout treatment and follow-up. Patient-reported symptoms and quality of life measures through patient-reported outcome measures have also been collected. ThisāÆwill provide insight into the patient experience during and after radiotherapy and permit the evaluation of the potential of these measures as a patient-centred qualitative biomarker. Except for cfDNA, all candidate biomarkers are routinely collected, making this study highly pragmatic.āÆ
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Overall, this project builds on previous work, but will introduce new and impactful insights that significantly advance the research. The candidate will benefit from the unique infrastructure and strengths that have been established locally, bringing together experts in clinical and translational research. The team includes members of the Christie, CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, National Cancer Biomarker Centre and the MCRC.
For more information and details on how to apply please see the flyer below and visit the website: https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/funding-fees/funded-programmes/cruk-phd-training-scheme/projects/
The deadline for applications is 15 November 2024
CRUK City of London Centre
Doctoral Fellowships
Are you interested in doing a PhD in cancer biotherapeutics research? The CRUK City of London Centre (CoLC) is now recruiting for Clinical Research Training Fellows starting in late September 2025.
We invite interested talented and motivated clinicians in training who are passionate about research to contact approved CoLC group leaders to discuss research opportunities and to co-develop a research proposal based on the candidates interest and background.
For more information and details on how to apply please see the flyer below and visit the CRUK CoL Centre Clinical Research Training Fellowship website: https://www.colcc.ac.uk/clinical-research-training-fellowships-crtf/
The deadline for applications is 5 November 2025 (noon GMT).
MARGO-360 SURVEY
Message to NOTCH members:
The ARGO Collaborative (Audit and Research in Gynaecological Oncology) is a trainee-led group which undertakes national projects in gynaecological cancer. Menopause following gynaecological cancer treatment can have profound effects on the physical and mental wellbeing in survivorship. We are currently seeking to evaluate practice and perspectives of healthcare practitioners on the provision of care for patients with menopausal symptoms or an iatrogenic menopause after treatment for a gynaecological cancer.
We are inviting consultants, trainees and nursing staff in clinical, medical and gynaecological oncology to complete this survey. It would especially valuable to have the responses of oncology trainees included in our project and so we would be very grateful if you distributed our anonymous online survey to NOTCH members.
Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/kVuD3uA2KjPEDjy98 MARGO-360 QuestionnaireA
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SURVEY OF PRACTICE AND PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT OF THE MENOPAUSE FOLLOWING A GYNAECOLOGICAL CANCER
We aim to evaluate current practice and perspectives of healthcare practitioners on the provision of care for patients with menopausal symptoms or an iatrogenic menopause after treatment for a gynaecological cancer. Participants may be health care practitioners, to include - consultants, trainees and nursing staff in clinical, medical, gynaecological oncology and benign gynaecology. The survey will take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. These questions relate to the care of patients with a suspected or confirmed gynaecological cancer. If you have any questions please get in touch via surgicalgynaeoncresearch@gmail.com
āKind regards The ARGO Committee
NEW FRONTIERS IN DRUG DISCOVERY @ THE FRANICS CRICK INSTITUTE
We are pleased to invite you and any interested colleagues to register for a free ticket for:
Medicine at the Crick
New Frontiers in Drug Discovery
Monday 18th November 2024, 09:30-17:00
Hybrid event taking place virtually and in person, organised by The Francis Crick Institute, London
Our Medicine at the Crick event series showcases major advances in biomedical science and raises awareness of the medical implications of major scientific advances. Interested members of the wider UK biomedical community are invited to attend.
More about the event
This 15th edition of Medicine at the Crick will be hosted as a full day event by Anne Schreiber (The Francis Crick Institute) and Radoslav Enchev (The Francis Crick Institute) on behalf of the AstraZeneca-Crick-Imperial Prosperity Partnership.
Many human diseases are caused by a deregulation of cellular components. Most traditional drugs target disease-causing proteins aiming to inhibit their activity by binding to their active site. However, specificity is often challenging, and only a small subset of these harmful proteins can be targeted in this way. A promising new class of drugs, known as induced proximity therapeutics, addresses these shortcomings by bringing two proteins close together to trigger functional changes or degradation, thereby suppressing the disease-causing effect. This shift from blocking to actively changing a protein of interest by engaging other cellular factors represents a groundbreaking new approach in drug development, expanding into previously undruggable targets to treat many diseases including cancer, inflammation, and neurodegeneration.
Programme
Speakers and panellists include: Prof Ray Deshaies (Amgen), Dr Miklos Bekes (Arvinas), Dr Leon Murphy (Casma Therapeutics), Prof Zoran Rankovic (Institute of Cancer Research), Prof Michael Bronstein (University of Oxford), Prof Charlotte Deane (EPSRC and the University of Oxford), Dr Cristina Mayor-Ruiz (IRB Barcelona), Prof Christina Woo (Harvard University), Prof Sagar Lonial (Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University), Prof Ivan Dikic (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Lectures will be followed by a Q&A panel discussion and a networking reception for in person attendees.
A more detailed programme will be made available soon.
Registration
Please find attached a poster for the event. Visit our webpages for further details and register via Eventbrite to order a free virtual or in person ticket for the event.
Please send any questions to: medicine-at-crick@crick.ac.uk
Please feel free to circulate this information among any colleagues who may be interested.
We look forward to welcoming you to our Medicine at the Crick event.
With all good wishes,
Peter Ratcliffe, Anne Schreiber and Radoslav Enchev
Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe FRS
Director of Clinical Research
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Dr Anne Schreiber
Group Leader
Dr Radoslav Enchev
Group Leaderāā
BONUS MENTORING SCHEME
The British Oncology Network of Undergraduate Societies are seeking medical and clinical oncology trainees and consultants to partake in their mentoring scheme for undergraduate medical students or early-career junior doctors for the next academic year.
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To find out more, please click on the button bellow.
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To apply, please follow the following link:
https://forms.gle/rGqRwky5W7169tsL7
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CAMBRIDGE SYMPOSIUM ON OESOPHAGEAL CANCER
7th November 2024
CRUK Institite, Cambridge, UKā
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We are delighted to invite you to join us in Cambridge for our next Symposium on Oesophageal Cancer, which will take place on Thursday 7th November. You can find further details and the link to sign up at https://crukcambridgecentre.org.uk/news/CamSOC2024.
This unmissable event will include talks stretching from advances in early detection and our understanding of oesophageal cancer development through to recent developments in our approach to the treatment of patients with established malignancy. This includes a focus on stratifying existing treatments such as radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy, in addition to a look towards emerging insights into the oesophageal cancer immune microenvironment and how this might be targeted.
We have assembled an exciting group of speakers from across the United States and Europe, including:
Rebecca Fitzgerald, University of Cambridge, UK
Matthew Stachler, UCSF, USA
Yelena Janjigian, MSKCC, USA
Trevor Graham, ICR, UK
Cindrilla Chumduri, Aarhus University, Denmark
Steve Lin, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
Karyn Goodman, Mount Sinai, USA
Russell Petty, Dundee, UK
Sarah Derks, Oncode, Netherlands
Paul Moss, Birmingham, UK
Stuart McDonald, Barts Cancer Institute, UK
We will shortly also invite abstract submissions for posters and short talks. Sign up at https://crukcambridgecentre.org.uk/news/CamSOC2024.
Please do get in touch (cj480@cam.ac.uk) should you have any queries and we otherwise hope to see you on 7th November.
Kind regards,
Rebecca Fitzgerald, Massimiliano di Pietro, Robert O'Neill & Chris Jones
STUDY ON CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Do you use clinical decision support systems?
If so, please see the attached invitation below to participate in an interview study conducted by researchers from the University of Leeds, to explore the views of health professionals towards using data-driven clinical decision support tools in their clinical practice.
Background: Recent advances in technology, statistical and machine learning techniques, mean it is possible to analyse large quantities of data about multiple patients. There are many new data-driven clinical decision support tools being developed using these techniques, but as yet only a few are available for clinical use. Not much is known yet about how healthcare practitioners feel about using such tools, whether they trust them, or how useful they find them.
Approval: This study has been approved by the University of Leeds School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee, reference MREC 22-107.
RCR CLINICAL ONCOLOGY TRAINEE RESEARCH NETWORK
The trainee members of the Clinical Oncology Academic Committee provide monthly email updates on external funding, fellowship and lectureship opportunities and relevant meetings and training courses in order to encourage the number and quality of research-active and academic Clinical Oncologists to members of the Clinical Oncology Trainee Research Network.
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How to get involved
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To register for your interest and subscribe to these monthly updates, click on the button below.
UK EARLY CAREERĀ RESEARCHERS IN CANCER RELAUNCH
Message from the UK ECRC December 2023
'We have exciting news to share regarding the future of our multidisciplinary community. In light of the NCRI winding down, we are thrilled to announce the relaunch of our forum as the UK Early Career Researchers in Cancer (UK ECRC) group! ššš
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Upcoming Opportunities!
We have been working hard behind the scenes to relaunch the forum and as we embark on this new chapter, we have some exciting opportunities lined up for our multidisciplinary members.
We are officially relaunching at the NOTCH Symposium in February next year, where we will have the chance to connect, share ideas, and explore new possibilities together!
We have been forging novel and exciting partnerships with national and international multidisciplinary organisations, which we will be updating you on very soon. This will lead to a plethora of future opportunities for our members.
Upcoming roles!
In the near future, we will be recruiting new positions within our committee and working groups. Please watch this space! š
What do I need to do to stay part of the group?
Nothing! You do not need to re-register to continue within the group, and it remains a free resource for ECRs across the UK.
Who and how can others join the group?
Any multidisciplinary professionals with an interest in cancer research, who consider themselves early in their research career, can apply to join this group. Please use the following link for new members to join: āØ https://forms.office.com/r/irThJTVkmu āØ
How to Stay Engaged? š»
Ā· Follow us on X: @UKECRC
Ā· Contribute to upcoming opinion surveys ā these will help us to help you and will help us identify engaged members to consider for committee roles!
Ā· Keep an eye on your inbox for updates and invitations to upcoming events.
Ā· Look out for our future networking platform, where you can connect with fellow members and stay informed about the latest news.
Your Data and Privacy
Your email address and the data you provided upon signing up (including your current role and research interests) have been obtained from the NCRI following full approval. We want to reassure you that we have sought advice from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and your data is still being kept privately and securely.
What if I want to leave the group?
We understand your circumstances may have changed and we respect your privacy. If you wish to opt out at any time, you can do so by clicking on https://forms.office.com/r/WkAaHSRMwi
We are incredibly grateful for your continued support, and we look forward to the vibrant discussions and collaborations that lie ahead. If you have any questions or concerns, or want to get more involved in the group, please feel free to reach out.'
INDUSTRY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY WITH BIONTECH FOR ONCOLOGY TRAINEES
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In July 2023, BioNTech signed a long-term partnership agreement with the UK, with the goal of working together to develop new cancer therapies for the benefit of NHS patients. This includes an accelerated clinical trials program supported by NIHR and NHS England, agreeing to deliver 10,000 cancer vaccines to patients in the UK by 2030. BioNTech have a diverse portfolio of trials in cancer vaccines and next generation immunotherapies, currently being brought to the UK. With this in mind, it is an exciting time to be involved in these latest technologies and trials and this role offers a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the national cancer vaccine advance.
BioNTech are expanding their UK team and it is an exciting time to be involved in the national cancer vaccine advance. Research interest and experience is important, and whilst previous industry experience is a bonus it is certainly not required. The role as a medical science liaison includes serving as the link between trial investigators and BioNTech, but also supporting global trials teams with activities from clinical development and early protocol discussion, to overseeing regulatory approvals and inputting on general strategy for the UK partnership and initiatives such as the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad.
This role is primarily remote, and ideal as an out of programme experience for medical or clinical oncologists. Duration is flexible, but a minimum of 1 year (2-3 years recommended.)
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If interested, please contact rosie.mew@biontech.co.uk