Research is more valuable when the people it aims to benefit have opportunities to help shape it. At Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, we work with people affected by cancer, patient advocates, young people and our wider communities to inform our research, share knowledge and make science more accessible.
Working with people affected by cancer
We work with people with lived experience of cancer to help shape our research and the way we communicate it. Through our PPI Partners initiative, research teams work with patient representatives who can help refine research questions, inform the design of studies and make sure findings are communicated in ways that are clear and relevant to people affected by cancer.
We also encourage our postgraduate research students to think about patient involvement from the beginning of their research careers. Patient representatives take part in our annual Postgraduate Research Day, where students discuss their work with them and take part in a three-minute thesis competition judged by the representatives.
This commitment to involving patients and the public also extends to our clinical research. Cancer clinical trials at Barts are delivered through close collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust, and the two organisations work together on patient and public involvement and engagement activities. These include regular patient forums and an annual Clinical Trials Day in May, where patients and members of the public can hear directly from clinical researchers about current cancer research and clinical trials.
Providing education opportunities for patient advocates
We work with Independent Cancer Patients’ Voice (ICPV) to run an intensive course called VOICE (Vision On Information, Confidence and Engagement), which introduces cancer patient advocates to cancer biology, research terminology and how cancer research is carried out.
Participants spend a week in our laboratories and classrooms, learning from cancer researchers and gaining hands-on laboratory experience. The course is designed to build participants’ knowledge and confidence so that they can contribute effectively to discussions and decision-making about research, funding, ethics and policy.
Engaging with young people
We want young people to have opportunities to explore, understand and question scientific ideas, and to see science as something they can take part in, to help inspire the scientists of tomorrow. Our schools programmes, STARS and BURSThrough, particularly aim to support students from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in science and encourage them to explore future study and careers in STEM.
We also support science engagement through Centre of the Cell, Queen Mary University of London’s science education centre at the Whitechapel campus, founded and directed by BCI’s Professor Fran Balkwill OBE FMedSci FRS.
Communicating our research
We aim to share news of our cancer research progress on our website and social media channels in a format that is accessible and understandable for people beyond the research community. To stay up to date with our latest news and articles, you can follow us on LinkedIn, BlueSky and Instagram.