The Elizabeth Blackwell Institute's Bristol Cancer Research Network, alongside the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) West of England, will be hosting its first Early Career Researchers' (ECRs) symposium on 24 June 2022.
This half-day event will comprise oral and poster presentations from ECRs as well as a keynote talk from an invited external speaker.
Aims of the event
The Cancer Network's Early Career Researchers' event will allow ECRs to go through an abstract submission process, get them in front of a captive audience of their peers to hone presentation and communication skills and, most importantly, will give ECRs the opportunity to share their experiences and research with fellow staff and students at the University. This is the perfect platform to share your work, explore alternative methodologies, ask questions if you feel one aspect of your research would benefit from wider input, offer expertise and encourage wider collaborations. This is your chance to take part in discussions that could lead to greater inter- and multidisciplinary understanding of the research in question and its potential relevance to other areas. Early-stage proposals are welcomed.
The event is open to all; if you are not presenting, please attend and support our ECRs from across faculties to gain a better understanding of the incredible breadth of research taking place across the wider Cancer community.
This event aims to foster the creation of new research directions, new ways of working, new ways to support and enable our academic community, and new learning experiences.
What is an early career researcher (ECR)?
We have no set definition for an ECR; we welcome submissions from undergraduates, postgraduates, postdocs, technicians, recently appointed lecturers who are starting their academic careers, clinicians embarking on a research career, and anyone else who feels they are starting a new phase in their career journey.
Call for abstracts
The call for abstracts is now closed. If you are interested in submitting for a poster, please contact Catherine as per details below. Presentations in all areas of cancer are welcome.
Registration
Registration is now closed. Contact Catherine Brown directly if you would like to join us.
Programme
| Time | Session | Speaker | Position | School | Institution | Title |
| 10.00-10.05 | Welcome and Introduction | Anne Ridley |
Head of School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and co-Lead, Bristol Cancer Research Network | Cellular and Molecular Medicine | University of Bristol | |
| Session 1 | Chair: Richard Martin | Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and co-Lead, Bristol Cancer Research Network | Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences | University of Bristol | ||
| 10.05-10.20 | Mark Gormley | Wellcome GW4- Clinical Academic PhD fellow | Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences | University of Bristol | Effect of genetically-predicted cholesterol lowering on head and neck cancer risk | |
| 10.20-10.35 | Hanin Alamir | PhD student | Cellular and Molecular Medicine | University of Bristol | T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 suppresses cytotoxic T lymphocyte anti-tumour function in a three-dimensional tumour spheroid model | |
| 10.35-10.50 | Jasmine Khouja | Senior Research Associate | Psychological Science | University of Bristol | A multivariable Mendelian randomisation study exploring the direct effects of nicotine on cancer compared with the non-nicotine constituents of tobacco smoke: Implications for e-cigarette use | |
| 10.50-11.05 | Dowan Kwon | Clinical Fellow | University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust | Procalcitonin – a new approach to tailoring antibiotic treatment in cancer patients | ||
| 11.05-11.30 | Refreshment break | |||||
| Session 2 | Chair: Helen Winter | Medical Oncologist / SWAG Cancer Alliance Clinical Director and co-Lead, Bristol Cancer Research Network | University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust | |||
| 11.30-11.45 | Elysia Traynor / Laura Perry | PhD students | Cellular and Molecular Medicine / Applied Sciences | University of Bristol / University West of England | Investigating the Role of the Prostaglandin E2-EP4 Axis in Colorectal Carcinogenesis | |
| 11.45-12.00 | Adam Chambers | Academic Clinical Lecturer | Cellular and Molecular Medicine | University of Bristol | Novel NF-κB signalling clusters predict DFS and OS following neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer | |
| 12.00-12.15 | Danny Legge | Research Associate | Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences | University of Bristol | Identification of targetable metabolic dependencies across colorectal cancer progression | |
| 12.15-12.30 | Caroline Bull | Senior Research Associate | Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences | University of Bristol | The influence of the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) on oncology-related proteins in circulation | |
| 12.30-13.00 | Keynote | Timothy Frayling (presenting remotely) | Professor of Human Genetics |
College of Medicine and Health |
Using human genetics to understand the aetiological links between obesity and cancer | |
| 13.00-13.30 | Lunch | |||||
| 13.30-14.30 | Poster session |
Keynote
We are delighted to welcome our keynote speaker, Prof Tim Frayling from the University of Exeter. He and his colleagues focus on using genome wide approaches to identify genetic variation associated with common human disease and quantitative phenotypes and translating that knowledge into an improved understanding of disease biology.
Posters
We are delighted to confirm the following poster presentations (with a few others expected to be added in due course, in alphabetical order):
- Alves, Anneke & Caws, Chloe (ST3 Registrar / Medical Oncology Clinical Fellow, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre): Assessing pharmacogenomic dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) testing in clinical practice
- Bailey, Mark (Speciality doctor in Respiratory medicine (SAS) and clinical informatician, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital): Cancer pathway optimisation through digitisation and automation
- Constantinescu, Andrei (PhD student, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences): Circulating immune cell count and colorectal cancer risk: a Mendelian Randomization study
- Cox, Nicola (ST5 Clinical Oncology trainee, Bristol Cancer Institute): Early experience in developing a study to inform decisions around palliative radiotherapy (pallRT) in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC)
- Gee, Abigail (ST6 Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust): TOASTIE at the Bristol Cancer Institute; a first Principal Investigator Experience
- Hamer, James (PhD student, Swansea University): Investigating the potential for induction of ferroptotic programmed cell death by statins in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer
- Hayes, Bryony (PhD student, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences): Orienting causal relationships between sleep and adiposity traits using Mendelian randomisation
- Hoskin, Ashley & Belfield, Kat (PhD student, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine / Clinical Research Fellow, UHBW and MD student): Is 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) the new aspirin?
- McKinlay, Alec (PhD student, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences): Association between telomere length and risk of cancer: A Mendelian randomisation study
- Mitchell, Ruth (Senior Research Associate, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences): Integrating Health Research: Mechanisms to Populations
- Neish, Karen (MSc student, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine): Cytotoxic T lymphocytes and their role in tumour immunity
- Richenberg, George (PhD student, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences): Investigating oscillating DNA methylation signals to provide insights into biological rhythmicity
- Swana, Matimba (PhD student, Engineering Mathematics): Nanoswarms: Should we let a robot swarm treat your cancer?