One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast
Season one: Innovations in Early Detection
This is One in Two: A Manchester Cancer Research Podcast brought to you by the University of Manchester and the Manchester Cancer Research Centre. With one and two of us receiving a cancer diagnosis at some point in our lifetime, it has never been more important for our research to improve the outcomes for people affected by cancer.
This series focuses on ‘Innovations in early detection’ which specifically spotlights the importance of cancer early detection for increasing survival in patients.
Our host, Sally Best will be speaking with Manchester cancer researchers about their innovations, discoveries and projects that are changing the landscape of early detection.
Sally Best, One in Two Podcast Host
“It has been an absolutely phenomenal experience to drive the production of this new podcast and to host it with such inspirational and erudite academics. From a personal standpoint, if this podcast can act to inspire even one individual to attend a screening appointment and prevent the development of a cancer, I will have succeeded in my goal of communicating the gravity of reducing cancer incidence through means of prevention and early detection.“
Episode one - Health inequalities with Professors Phil and Emma Crosbie: does going directly to communities improve screening uptake?
In this episode we speak to Professor Phil Crosbie and Professor Emma Crosbie about their research in the early detection of lung and womb cancer and their work on community screening and addressing health inequalities. With cancer incidence rising, especially amongst the most socially and economically disadvantaged communities, the need for earlier detection interventions has never been more important. We find out how this cancer research power couple are transforming cancer patient outcomes through novel approaches to early detection.
Professor Phil Crosbie is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine at The University of Manchester and an Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine based at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. His research and clinical focus is the early detection of lung cancer.
Emma Crosbie is Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. She is also the lead for the cancer prevention and early detection research theme at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. Her research interests include screening, prevention and the early detection of gynaecological cancers, as well as developing new treatments and interventions for women with established disease.
Episode 2 - Breast cancer with Professor Gareth Evans: should all women be screened equally?
In this episode we speak to Professor Gareth Evans about the importance of breast cancer screening, as well as the risk predictors of breast cancer as he answers the question: Should all women be screened equally for breast cancer? He discusses risk prediction, early detection and prevention of breast cancer, highlighting the outputs of trials led by Manchester investigating the best routes for breast cancer screening.
Gareth Evans is a Professor of Medical Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology at The University of Manchester. He is also a Consultant in Medical Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology at Central Manchester Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Episode 3 - Cervical screening in the LGBTQIA+ community with Dr Jen Davies-Oliveira and Professor Emma Crosbie: how can we make screening more inclusive?
In this episode we speak to Dr Jen Davies-Oliveira and Professor Emma Crosbie about their research into womb cancer and human papilloma virus, commonly known as HPV. We also discuss one of their research projects developing alternative self-sampling methods for HPV. With lower cervical screening uptake in communities such as the LGBTQIA+ community, we explore how addressing barriers to screening can be achieved through greater engagement with these groups and the importance of developing an inclusive approach to screening.
Jen Davies-Oliveira is a senior Obstetrics and Gynaecology Trainee, currently undertaking a PhD in early detection cancer research. She is exploring the possibility of alternative cervical screening methods to improve the uptake of screening including in marginalised groups such as the LGBTQIA+ and ethnically diverse communities.
Emma Crosbie is Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. She is also the lead for the cancer prevention and early detection research theme at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. Her research interests include screening, prevention and the early detection of gynaecological cancers, as well as developing new treatments and interventions for women with established disease.
Episode 4 - Health Economics with Professor Katherine Payne: Is early detection cost effective?
In this episode we speak to Professor Katherine Payne about health economics; what it is, its importance in cancer treatment and early detection strategies and the crucial role it plays in changing healthcare policy. We discuss Katherine’s work evaluating the health and economic benefits of banning sunbeds in England and the effect that a policy intervention would have in reducing the burden of skin cancer on the NHS.
Katherine Payne is Professor of Health Economics at The University of Manchester. She is also Centre lead for the Manchester Centre for Health Economics. Her research interests include the application and development of economic methods to understand the potential value of precision medicine and genomics. She also has an interest in the evaluation of strategies to enable the prevention and the early detection of cancer.
Episode 5 - Nano-omics with Professor Marilena Hadjidemetriou: can nanoparticles help us find early signs of cancer?
In this episode we speak to Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou about her research on nano-omics, which aims to integrate nanotechnology to the ‘world of omics’ as well as proteomic biomarker discovery. We find out how nano-omics is being used to isolate molecular biomarkers that highlight the early stages of cancer in patients, making earlier cancer detection possible.
Marilena Hadjidemetriou is a Lecturer at the University of Manchester, leading the Nano-Omics team. Her team aims to develop nanoparticle-based ‘liquid-biopsy’ platforms with the ultimate goal to unveil novel biomarker panels for early disease detection.
Episode 6 - Womb cancer and Lynch syndrome with Professor Emma Crosbie: How did we change clinical practice?
In this episode, we speak to Professor Emma Crosbie about her research in womb cancer and the breakthrough she made in discovering a link between Lynch syndrome and womb cancer. We discuss the steps Emma and her team took to change NICE guidance on testing for Lynch syndrome for women with womb cancer, and what this now means for the many women and their families with this disease.
Emma Crosbie is Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. She is also the lead for the cancer prevention and early detection research theme at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. Her research interests include screening, prevention and the early detection of gynaecological cancers, as well as developing new treatments and interventions for women with established disease.
Episode 7 - Looking outside the cell with Professor Sarah Cartmell: can we see where cancer starts?
In this episode we speak to Professor Sarah Cartmell on her work in bioengineering and ex-vivo modelling which involves studying cancer cells outside of an organism. Specifically, we talk about her team's work developing these models that can analyse, in three dimensions, how non-cancerous lung cancer cells develop into tumours and what the findings from this work could mean for improving patient outcomes.
Sarah Cartmell is currently head of the Department of Materials which is home to nearly 2,000 students. She is a member of the school’s senior management team and has previously been an elected Senate member for The University of Manchester. Sarah was the UK Biomedical Materials champion for The Royce Institute of a £235million UK government investment for advanced materials 2017-21.
