Putting patients at the heart of our work

A native of Belfast, Margaret works extensively with cancer organisations as a patient advocate.  

Margaret had her first breast cancer diagnosis in 2004 and then a second diagnosis in September 2021. Margaret chairs the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel, having been the deputy chair previously. She is a member of the Northern Ireland Cancer Research Consumer Forum, which she chaired from 2011 to 2021, working with the NI Cancer Trials Network.   

Margaret is a member of the NCRI (National Cancer Research Institute) Consumer Forum and of Independent Cancer Patient Voice (ICPV).  She is a facilitator for HSC NI, Research and Development Division’s Building Research Partnerships workshop. Margaret is the Public Contributor for HSC NI on the Shared Commitment Steering Group. She co-chaired a subgroup of the new, 10-year, NI Cancer Strategy and is a member of the NI Clinical Research, Recovery, Resilience and Growth Oversight Group. 

 She has been a member of Cancer Research UK’s Research and Innovation Cancer Insight Panel and been involved in many of CRUK’s involvement activities.   

Margaret was awarded the MBE for services to cancer research in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours List. 

Following an unexpected diagnosis of myeloma in 2014, Claire continued working. In June 2015, she was also diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer. Following a year of breast cancer treatment, she returned to full-time work, but left in 2017. Claire now volunteers for public involvement activities to use the skills gained during employment to support vital initiatives like Cancer Grand Challenges.

Claire is sports mad and competes in half marathons. She ran every day during chemotherapy for breast cancer and loves helping people gain enjoyment from running.  She swims regularly and enjoys many other sports. Sport helps her to deal with the stress of living with myeloma.  

Since becoming interested in volunteering, Claire has taken on several public involvement roles, including being part of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel and working with Genomics Partnership Wales, which delivers the Welsh Government’s Genomics for Precision Medicine strategy. She has also been involved in the CRUK-RCGP (Royal College of General Practitioners) partnership, which aims to improve early diagnosis rates; the Royal College of Radiology’s working group responsible for developing professional guidance on the Duty of Candour; and several research study steering groups for Cardiff University. 

Debby was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2014 and during her treatment took part in several research trials.  This sparked an ongoing interest in health research.

She sits as a public or lay member on several National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) panels and boards, and is also a member of the NICE Colorectal Cancer Guideline Committee.

She is a co-applicant on two cancer trials funded by Cancer Research UK and Macmillan, and also runs a Community of Interest Company (CIC) called Help-Diabetes, offering support for people with type 2 diabetes.

Her work with Cancer Research UK has included being a member of one of the sounding boards, acting as an Involvement Coach, and many other involvement roles. She currently is working on the Data Intelligence Group. She feels that being part of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel is a highlight and an exciting opportunity to help shape significant and potentially game changing pieces of research. 

Following the death of his wife from bowel cancer, aged just 52, Patrick was determined to do whatever he could to try to ensure that as few families as possible went through the devastating experience him, his wife and children went through.   

Patrick began volunteering and fundraising for CRUK. Over the years he has become involved in a range of patient and public involvement opportunities, including focus groups, advisory boards, working parties and research groups. He has been a CRUK Cancer Campaigns Ambassador for 10 years and is currently a member of the CRUK Prevention & Early Diagnosis Funding Panel. He is a member of various NHS Cancer Programme Patient Groups and the Co-lead of the Oxford Cancer Centre Patient Panel. He is particularly passionate about cancer prevention and early diagnosis. He continues to fundraise for CRUK through regular running, cycling and trekking challenges. Patrick feels proud and privileged to be a member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel, which gives him the opportunity to play a part in making a real difference and transforming lives. 

Gita has been involved with various CRUK Patient and Public Involvement activities for a number of years. She has worked within the NHS throughout her career, leaving when her son was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in 2012. Having gone through chemotherapy, proton therapy, stem cell transplant and participation in a clinical trial, sadly, they lost him in 2015. 

Gita recognises that ongoing research allowed her son to access all the treatments. Gita provides a carer's perspective to the parental and bone cancer groups that she is involved with.

Anjelica (“Anjee”) Davis serves as President of Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC), a national patient-empowerment organization founded in 2005. Fight CRC’s mission is to fight colorectal cancer and serve as relentless champions of hope for all affected by this disease through informed patient support, impactful policy change, and breakthrough research endeavours.

With nearly two decades of experience in research advocacy, and a passion to ensure patient voices are heard, she continues to fight tirelessly for patients’ access to care and research advancements. She has led national awareness efforts and has accelerated research by convening international researchers to tackle dropping the screening age to 45 to unpacking concerning trends impacting early-age onset colorectal patients.

In 2019, Anjee was appointed as chair of National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Council of Research Advocates (NCRA), and as a member of NCI’s Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee (CTAC). In 2020, she joined the colorectal cancer subcommittee of the President's Cancer Panel, informing the report on colorectal cancer specific activities for the National Cancer Program. 

Anjee is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed February 2020. 

Ivana is Italian, married with 2 sons and lives in Italy where she enjoys little things including music and arts. She has an MSc in International Health Technology Assessment from the University of Sheffield, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, a master’s in management and a degree in foreign literature from Italian universities. 

Her work experience is at international level, primarily with the life science industry. Currently she works for pharmaceutical company Novartis as Executive Director Oncology Policy and Healthcare Systems. 

She is passionate about cancer policy, and serves on different steering committees focusing on policy advocacy on cancer research, cancer challenges, access and inequalities. She serves as: Chair of the Oncology Platform within EFPIA (European Federation of Industry and Association Fighting cancer); Steering Committee member of Rare Cancers Europe (RCE, ESMO); and founding member of Transforming Breast Cancer Together. 

She believes in the power of inclusion and collaboration and looks forward to putting her experience to the service of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel. 

Christine was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in 2015. After three years of struggling, physically and mentally, she survived and started her cancer advocacy journey. 

Christine is a grant reviewer for ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation, the USA (2021-2023), the Canadian Cancer Society (2022-), Lung Cancer Canada (2020-) and the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (2021). She is also one of the key research team members and leads a 6-member patient-partner team at the University of Montreal funded by the Canadian Cancer Society. She recently became a member of the Patient Working Group of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centers Network (MOHCCN) at the Terry Fox Research Institute, Canada. 

Christine co-developed the Breakthrough Team Grant ($45M) for the Canadian Cancer Society. She is serving as a patient and family representative on the board of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology. She is currently leading a research project on Canadian lung cancer patients’ fear and anxiety about the recurrence of lung cancer.  

Christine feels excited and privileged to be a member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel, which gives her the opportunity to help shape cancer research and to have a voice in the science strategy.  

Chris was diagnosed in 2017 with two different blood cancers – chronic lymphocytic leukemia and cutaneous follicle centre cell lymphoma. He has benefited  from novel small molecule and monoclonal antibody therapies during the course of his treatment and participated in a phase II clinical trial.  

He is active in the blood cancer community and is passionate about helping patients and caregivers be heard. He has conducted research with blood cancer patients on awareness of their disease; knowledge related to therapies; preferences related to treatment; and unmet needs. Chris has been published in a number of cancer and medical journals.  

Chris is a retired social scientist who has conducted research in more than 150 countries. During his professional career, he led basic and fundamental scientific research with a focus on programmes that were high risk/high reward in the social and behavioural sciences.  

Joya Delgado Harris is the Executive Director, CEO Cancer Gold Standard for the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, helping to drive the mission of the Gold Standard accreditation program, including a multi-year strategic partnership between corporations and Minority-Serving Institutions to help achieve equitable health outcomes in those disproportionately affected by cancer.

Joya was previously the Director of Research Integration for the American Cancer Society where she provided oversight and management of the integration of products and outcomes stemming from the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer into enterprise-wide mission objectives. Before joining the American Cancer Society, Joya worked for Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. 

Joya was diagnosed with stage 3-C breast cancer in 2007. She is grateful to match personal experience with professional interests, by serving as an advocate. Joya serves as a Consumer Advocate Peer Reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), administered by the Department of Defense, sitting alongside scientists to review and evaluate innovative breast cancer research grant proposals. She also serves as a reviewer for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) as well as a volunteer with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Furthermore, Joya is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Council of Research Advocates (NCRA).

Joya is the proud mother of two and enjoys spending time with friends and family, travelling, cooking and running. 

Diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the young age of 25, Yelak has lived with the disease for more than a quarter of a century. His journey as a patient brought him to the International Myeloma Foundation, first leading a support group and then as a member of the organisation’s Board of Directors and now as President and CEO. He sees his role as a way “to pay it forward and carry the baton as far and as fast as possible so those who come after me, those who come after us, can go even further.” His vision is “to find a cure for myeloma so no one dies from the disease by the year 2035.”  
   
Yelak’s set of life experiences - living with myeloma; a past member of NCI’s Myeloma Committee, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, National Cancer Research Advocate; a co-author of published research; a prolific speaker on patient care and myeloma research issues; and his collaborations with both for-profit and non-profit organizations - has afforded him a deeper understanding of the challenges, disappointments, and triumphs that cancer patients and their care team face day to day.   

Born in Ethiopia, Yelak completed his master’s degrees in computer science from the University of North Texas. He and his wife, along with their two dachshunds, live in Los Angeles, California.   

Dirk lives in Essen, Germany with his wife and has two grown up sons.  

In 2003 his older son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of five and underwent treatment for 4 years, including a relapse and a stem cell transplantation. During this challenging time, the family received a lot of support from clinicians, caregivers and volunteers. This experience helped Dirk to engage in a local parents’ organisation, first as a volunteer, later as a member of the board. 

Today he is a member of the patient advisory board of the DKFZ, Germany’s biggest research institute for cancer research.  

In 2022, Dirk himself was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. As he is benefiting from progress made in research over the last 20 years, it is an easy step for him to engage with initiatives that bring research one step ahead, following the vision “Cure more, Cure better”. Being interested in research from his profession as an engineer, he appreciates that cancer research is asking for the patients’ view.  Dirk believes that including different perspectives will bring research to the point with faster and more convenient results. As a learning from his professional career and the working style in the field of childhood cancer, he believes cooperation between researchers, clinicians, industry and patients is a key for success. 

As a former marathon runner, Dirk enjoys physical activities of all kinds and is happy about the possibilities his treatment is allowing him.