All Fellows Meeting 2023
Back left to right: Patient representatives from the Involvement Network; Sue, Gita and Richard.
Front left to right: Anne-Sophie and Alison from the Patient Involvement Team and Claire, a patient representative.
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“Research is where hope starts”
In June, the All Fellows Meeting returned for its first in-person gathering since 2018. The event brings together Fellows funded by Cancer Research UK and Junior Group Leaders at Cancer Research UK’s Institutes. This two-day retreat gave them the opportunity to network, hear about a range of cancer research areas, collaborate, and meet Cancer Research UK staff.
Members of the Patient Involvement Team attended the meeting along with 4 patient representatives from the Involvement Network. Together with a clinician scientist from the University of Oxford, they spoke about the importance of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and gave personal examples of being involved meaningfully. They received excellent feedback which shows researchers' desire to work more closely with patients and their loved ones and the need to engage with this community.
Reflecting on the event, Claire said
I thought the event was interesting and the 'lightning talks' were a different way for delegates to give everyone a flavour of their research projects. It was great to see them networking and making connections that will hopefully help them in their current projects, spark ideas for further research into cancer topics and advance their careers.
After talks from our patient representatives, table discussions encouraged Fellows to share their own experiences of involving people affected by cancer in research. Gita shared
I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller group table discussion about the difficulties they encounter and chatting through some practical ideas and examples.
Sue reflected that it was great to have the opportunity to provide tips to the Fellows on public and patient involvement in research and get positive feedback.
Patients and the Public are stakeholders and deserve to be involved in research. It was motivating to hear this group recognise the value that public and patient involvement can add to their work. I also welcomed the opportunity to chat with researchers during the breaks. They were passionate and committed and I found it really inspiring.