Research Advisory Committee

Committee Chair

Fran is a Professor of Cancer Biology at Queen Mary, University of London, and Deputy Centre Lead in the Centre for Tumour Microenvironment. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association. She has served as our Research Advisory Committee chair since 2021.

Fran’s research investigates the links between cancer and inflammation, with particular focus on the role that inflammatory cytokines play in cancer promotion. She has aims to translate knowledge of cancer biology, immunology and tumour microenvironment into new biological treatments for cancer.

Daniel is a Professor in Medical Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of East Anglia, and is also a Group Leader within the Cancer Genetics Team at Norwich Medical School. He has served as a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

Daniel has over decade’s experience in applying and developing novel analytic techniques to large-scale ‘omic datasets from human tumour samples, to answer clinically relevant questions in translational cancer research. His research has a particular focus on prostate cancer.

Jay is a Professor of Molecular Oncology and Senior Group Leader at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge. He has served as a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

Jay’s research focusses on the role of hormones and hormone receptors in cancer. Primarily, he aims to investigate how androgen and estrogen receptors influence gene transcription, and how this contributes to cancer progression and therapy resistance in breast and prostate cancers.

Laure is a Professor in Radiation Biology at the Discipline of Radiation Therapy in the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

For over a decade, Laure has investigated the selective destruction of cancer cells with ionising radiation, developing novel approaches to improve cell lethality by radiation. Her work focusses primarily on prostate cancer, where she has contributed towards the design of in vitro models, as well as the molecular classification of the disease.

Helen is Chair of Nanomedicine and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Queen’s University Belfast and is also the CEO and Founder of pHion Therapeutics. With a pipeline of 6 products supported by Innovate UK and series A investment, pHion’s goal is to create a new industry in Northern Ireland and bring the first of its kind mRNA vaccines to the clinic for oncology (HPV, Ovarian and Prostate Cancers). She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2019.

Helen’s research focusses on the development of non-viral delivery systems for nanomedicine applications and has designed and patented several nucleic acid and anionic small molecule systems, aimed at delivering controlled intracellular delivery.

Antoinette is an Associate Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology at University College Dublin, as well as co-director of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics laboratory at the UCD Conway Institute. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2019.

Antoinette’s research focuses on translational cancer epigenomics. She aims to understand the role of epigenetic aberrations in the pathogenesis of cancer, and to utilise this knowledge to develop prognostic and predictive biomarkers, primarily for use in prostate and ovarian cancer.

Iain is a Professor in Cell and Molecular Endocrinology and is Research Lead for the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. He has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

Iain’s research focusses on the molecular mechanisms of action of the human androgen receptor, investigating its role in prostate cancer progression and resistance to therapy. He aims to translate fundamental discoveries into therapies that can be tested in the clinic.

Craig is a Professor of Molecular Urology at Newcastle University, and sits on the executive board at the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer. He has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2019.

Craig’s research employs several preclinical models and aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that drive the progression to therapy-resistant, metastatic prostate cancer. He primarily focuses on the human androgen receptor signalling cascade, and has identified several critical epigenetic alterations that influence androgen receptor function.

Nina is a Consultant Radiologist at Royal Marsden Hospital and conducts research at the Institute of Cancer Research. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2019.

Nina is an expert in cancer imaging and clinical trials, with a particular interest in whole body MRI. She aims to develop MRI imaging techniques that can detect and monitor metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.

Ravi is a Senior Clinician and Head of the Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Section at the National Cancer Institute. He has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

Ravi’s clinical research is focused on immune stimulating therapies, early recurrent disease and PSMA PET imaging in prostate cancer. He aims to develop a better understanding of how immune stimulating therapies can improve clinical outcomes, as well as how they can be combined with other therapies. He has a particular interest in the potential of immunocytokines and therapeutic cancer vaccines in the treatment of prostate cancer. Ravi is also looking for ways to balance toxicity and treatment in men with recurrent prostate cancer, and investigates how best to best implement PSMA imaging in recurrent prostate cancer, as well as in other stages of prostate cancer.

Cynthia is a Radiation Oncologist and Associate Professor at the University of Montreal. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2021.

Cynthia focusses on translational research in the development, validation, and clinical application of novel imaging to radiotherapy treatment planning, response assessment, and treatment adaptation in prostate cancer.

Prabs is a Group Leader at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London and Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, London, UK. He is also a Consultant Urological and Robotic Surgeon at University College Hospital. Prabhakar has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2023.

Prabs’ research explores alternative pre-mRNA splicing and its effects on prostate cancer biology, as well as developing liquid biopsy-derived molecular biomarkers of treatment outcomes. Clinically, he investigates chemo-preventative strategies to reduce low-risk prostate cancer progression, and specialises in the surgical treatment of prostate cancer.

John is a Professor of Bio-organic Chemistry at the University of Sussex, where he also serves as Medicinal Chemistry Head, Sussex Drug Discovery Centre. He has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2023.

John has a wealth of expertise in medicinal and bio-organic chemistry. He has a track record of breakthroughs in synthetic organic chemistry, drug discovery and palladium catalysis.

Gerda is a Professor of Tumor Biology at the Medical University of Vienna. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2024.

Gerda’s research interest lies primarily in the field of cancer epigenetics, where she investigates the effects of epigenetic pathways on tumour development and progression. Her lab also aims to develop epigenetic diagnostic biomarkers from circulating free tumour DNA in liquid biopsy samples.

Julia is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Group Leader at The Institute of Cancer Research. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2024.

Julia has been a key figure in several clinical trials investigating the role of radiotherapy in the management and treatment of prostate cancer. Her research focusses on advanced radiotherapy technologies to improve treatment accuracy and patient outcomes.

Marianna is a Professor and Head of the Urological Research Laboratory, University of Bern. She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2024.

Marianna’s multidisciplinary research approach aims to investigate the processes that lead to metastasis and cancer progression. Her laboratory focusses the on the development and application of research tools and models for precision medicine, including organoid and PDX models of prostate cancer and microvascular on chip chambers for single cell analysis.

Clare is Professor of Cellular Pathology and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford and Honorary Consultant in Cellular Pathology with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is a previous Turing Fellow with the Alan Turing Institute (2021-2023) and  is chair of the British Association of Urological Pathologists (November 2023 onwards). She has been a member of our Research Advisory Committee since 2024.

Clare’s research focusses on prostate cancer and other genitourinary tract pathology. She has a particular interest in digital pathology and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the diagnostic pathway.