We are delighted to announce that The Eve Appeal has recruited three new research stars to its Research Advisory Committee- Dr Garth Funston, Professor Raji Ganesan and Professor Anne Lanceley.
The research that we fund is chosen and evaluated by our Research Advisory Committee – a team of clinicians, researchers, and people with experience of gynaecological cancers. They make sure that our supporters’ kind donations go to the best research possible, that fits our mission of prevention or earlier diagnosing the five gynae cancers and will have the greatest impact for women and people with gynae organs.
So, who are our three new members?
Professor Anne Lanceley is a Professor of Women’s Cancer Care from the UCL Institute for Women’s Health.
Anne’s research interests lie in the patient experience of prevention and early detection approaches in breast and gynaecological cancers. She has also developed and tested quality-of-life tools that help inform decision making for treating gynae cancers. Anne is committed to improving long term patient outcomes by nurturing the next generation of prevention and early detection scientists.
Anne says:
I am so pleased to work with The Eve Appeal in this role. During my time as a nurse and a researcher I witnessed firsthand the impact gynaecological cancers can have on women and their families, even though treatments and outcomes have improved. These cancers need to be prevented and diagnosed earlier. This is what The Eve Appeal is all about. As a RAC member I will be privileged to review funding applications and recommend those with the most promise to radically alter the landscape of gynaecological cancers. An exciting task!
Dr Garth Funston is a GP and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care Cancer Research at Queen Mary University of London, where he co-leads the Cancer Early Diagnosis Unit. His research focusses on developing and evaluating approaches to support the early detection of cancer in primary care, with a particular interest in ovarian cancer research.
He also sits on the Editorial Board of the British Journal of General Practice and on the NICE Suspected Cancer Quality Standards Update Committee.
Professor Raji Ganesan is a Consultant Gynaecological Pathologist from Birmingham Women’s Hospital, and an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham.
She is a diagnostic gynaecological pathologist in one of only two dedicated women’s hospitals in the UK. As a leader in her field, she has held a number of key roles. She is co-chair of the education committee of the International Society of Gynaecological Pathologists (ISGyP), immediate Past President of BAGP (The British Association of Gynaecological Pathologists) 2019 – 2022 and UK National Gynaecological Pathology EQA organiser 2014 –2019.
Athena Lamnisos, Eve CEO, says:
We have a razorsharp research strategy at Eve in early diagnosis and cancer prevention. We want to fund research where there is both the greatest need and greatest potential to make a step change in outcomes across the gynaecological cancers. Having a range of expert voices represented in our awarding processes and decisions is vital. We know how vital primary care, patient voice and areas of expertise such as pathology are to early diagnosis and prevention. Garth, Raji and Anne will bring incredible insights to our strategic decision-making process, and ultimately, help us achieve best value from our research funding and high impact for those affected by the gynaecological cancers.
Our new members, alongside the RAC Chair Professor Emma Crosbie (University of Manchester), Professor Sudha Sundar (University of Birmingham), Professor Ahmed Ahmed (University of Oxford), Dr Helen Howie (lay member) and Rhea Crighton (lay member, specialist gynae oncology nurse) are currently reviewing the applications of our 2024 fellowship candidates.
