INVITED SPEAKERS

Keynote speaker: Professor Sir Mike Stratton

Wellcome Sanger InstitutE

Professor Sir Mike Stratton is a Senior Group Leader and former Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute. A pioneer of cancer genomics, he founded the Cancer Genome Project and has made major contributions to identifying cancer susceptibility genes, driver mutations and the mutational signatures that reveal how cancers develop.

Mr James Kinross

IMperial college london

Mr James Kinross is a consultant colorectal surgeon and clinical academic at Imperial. His research examines how interactions between the gut microbiome, diet and environment contribute to colorectal cancer development, and how the microbiome might be targeted to improve cancer prevention, detection and treatment. He is co-founder of the International Cancer Microbiome Consortium.

Dr Anisha Patel

Patient Advocate

Dr Anisha Patel is a GP, patient advocate and stage III bowel cancer survivor. Drawing on her experience as both a doctor and patient, she works to improve cancer awareness, care and policy, with particular interests in survivorship, wellbeing, inequalities and supporting people to navigate life during and after cancer.

Professor David Church

University of Oxford

Professor David Church is a Cancer Research UK Senior Cancer Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford. His research explores the genomic and immune mechanisms underlying colorectal and endometrial cancers, with a particular interest in Lynch syndrome, biomarkers and cancer prevention. He leads the LynchVax programme based at the University of Oxford.

Dr Emily Leeming

Dr. Emily Leeming, PhD, is a nutrition and microbiome researcher, registered dietitian, and former chef. At King's College London her research explores how food shapes the gut microbiome and our health. She is part of the PROSPECT team running the EAT-FIBRE study, a clinical trial investigating fibre and the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. Dr. Emily is an international keynote and TEDx speaker, Daily Mail columnist, and regular media contributor. She is the author of two best-selling books, Genius Gut and Fibre Power.

King's COLLEGE LONDON

Professor Trevor Graham

Professor Trevor Graham is Director of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and an internationally recognised leader in cancer evolution. His pioneering research has advanced our understanding of how cancers arise and evolve, with particular expertise in colorectal cancer.

The Institute of Cancer Research

Dr Penelope (Pebs) Edwards

The Institute of Cancer Research & The royal Marsden

Dr Penelope Edwards is a medical oncologist and Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden, supported by the CRIS Cancer Foundation. She undertook her doctoral research at St Mark’s Hospital and Imperial College London as the 40tude Tom Smith Research Fellow. Her research focuses on the mechanistic biology of early-onset colorectal cancer and the immune and genetic mechanisms underlying cancer development in Lynch syndrome, aiming to improve risk prediction, prevention and early detection.

Dr Rosiered Brownson-Smith

King's College London

Dr Rosiered Brownson-Smith is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London, where she leads the development and implementation of the PROSPECT-UK longitudinal cohort study. As part of the international PROSPECT programme, her research focuses on identifying the dietary, lifestyle, environmental and biological risk factors underlying early-onset colorectal cancer, with the aim of improving prevention and informing future public health strategies. She also contributes to the Healthspan Connect Programme of Research, supporting digitally enabled population research into healthy ageing and long-term health.

Professor Eva Morris

University of Oxford

Professor Eva Morris is Professor of Health Data Epidemiology and Interim Director of the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford. Her research uses linked national cancer datasets to examine the diagnosis, management and outcomes of colorectal cancer and to generate evidence that improves services and patient care.

Mrs Sally Benton is a consultant clinical biochemist and Director of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening South of England Hub at Royal Surrey. An internationally recognised expert in faecal immunochemical testing (FIT), she leads research into biomarkers and testing strategies for the screening and earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Mrs Sally Benton

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Kevin Monahan

St Mark’s Hospital & Imperial College London

Professor Kevin Monahan is Professor of Practice in Gastroenterology at Imperial College London and a consultant gastroenterologist at St Mark’s Hospital. He specialises in hereditary gastrointestinal cancers, particularly Lynch syndrome, and leads work on genetic testing, endoscopic surveillance, and early cancer detection in high-risk populations.

Dr Sylvia Zanesco

King's College London

Dr Sylvia Zanesco is a Registered Associate Nutritionist and Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London. As part of the Cancer Grand Challenges initiative, she leads a dietary intervention trial within PROSPECT-UK, investigating the effects of a high-fibre diet on pathways linked with early-onset colorectal cancer risk in twins under the age of 50. The overarching aim of her research is to advance the evidence base for the protective role of diet in colorectal cancer prevention to inform science-backed dietary recommendations that support prevention.

Dr Jayant Rane

University College London

Dr Jayant Rane is a clinical oncologist and researcher at UCL and University College London Hospitals. His work focuses on cancer evolution, early detection and interception, including the biological and clinical challenges presented by cancers occurring in younger adults.