Our Team
Dr Brent O'Carrigan - Programme Lead
Brent is a consultant medical oncologist specialising in kidney cancer and melanoma at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. He trained in Sydney and London, completing a fellowship in early phase cancer trials at the Royal Marsden Hospital and PhD in translational cancer research in immuno-oncology at the University of Cambridge, awarded both a Sir John Monash Foundation and Cambridge Trust International Scholarship.
Dr O'Carrigan is PI for a broad portfolio of academic and commercial clinical trials in both kidney cancer and melanoma, including cellular therapy trials. He is Clinical Cancer Lead for the NHS Genomics Laboratory Hub (GLH) for the East of England and East Midlands and member of NHS Englands National Genomic Test Directory working group. He is deputy chair of the NCRI Skin Group and develops the national strategy for academic research into skin cancer across the UK.
Regionally, he chairs the immunotherapy toxicity working group and is deputy chair of the outpatient clinic management group. He serves on a number of national trial management groups and data safety & monitoring boards.
Brent was awarded the Royal Australian College of Physicians medal in 2012 for the highest mark in the national specialist examinations across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2023, Brent was awarded the title Affiliated Assistant Professor in recognition of his sizable contributions to research within the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge.
Outside of professional life, Brent is a dad to three young children, keen cyclist (and swimmer when time permits) with a passion for international travel off the beaten track.
Professor Grant Stewart - Programme Lead
Grant is an academic surgeon at the University of Cambridge with a broad and impactful portfolio of translational research and a particular interest in optimising early detection and management of patients with initially localised renal cell cancer. He has been joint Programme lead of the Urological Malignancies Programme since early 2020, following his appointment as Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Cambridge. With over 150 peer reviewed publications and £52 million in research grants and clinical trial income, he is a global leader in renal cell cancer research and coordinates the a group of over 40 clinicians, translational researchers and basic scientists across the Cambridge Biomedical Campus with a shared interest in renal cell cancer research (CamRenCan). Clinically, Grant provides all modes of treatment for kidney cancer, from major open surgery to robotic minimally invasive approaches.
Grant has a particular interest in the early detection and screening for kidney cancer, as well as peri-surgical systemic therapy to optimise survival (see the NAXIVA, RAMPART and WIRE clinical trials), and has developed a raft of interconnected clinical trials and translational research underpinned by clinical excellence in renal cancer at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. These include feasibility trials, multi-arm multi-stage designed, CTIMPs, spanning an impressive range of methodologies with a view to identifying and developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to renal cell cancer. Large-scale patient sampling and bio-banking has allowed him to develop multiple translational approaches and workstreams alongside these clinical trials, including work on DNA methylation, circulating tumour DNA, transcriptional regulation and dynamic metabolism assessment of tumour environments. He recently established in the UK the European Active Surveillance of Renal Cell Carcinoma Study to determine the natural history of small renal cancers.
Prior to moving to Cambridge University, Grant was Senior Lecturer in Urological Surgery at the University of Edinburgh, where he led the Edinburgh Urological Cancer Group and developed and still co-directs the Scottish Collaboration on Translational Research into Renal Cell Cancer (SCOTRRCC) - a Scotland-wide kidney-cancer bio-repository of 1,200 patients with high-quality clinical-data linkage. He also chairs the Scientific and Education Committee of The Urology Foundation, is a member of the Clinical Expert Review Panel of Cancer Research UK and is Chief Investigator for several renal-cancer clinical trials. Grant is a trustee of The Urology Foundation and Kidney Cancer UK, he is a section Editor of the British Journal of Urology International, member of Association of Academic European Urologists and Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Outside of his busy professional life, he is a keen golfer as well as an impressive athlete, having represented Scotland in cross-country in 1997 and 1998 and in the World Mountain Running Championships on four occasions between 1995 and 2008.
Carley Batley - Programme Manager
Carley has worked in urology since 2020 and is responsible for managing the Virtual Institute's clinical, scientific, and translational research programme. She manages the VI at a strategic and day-to-day level. Carley holds a first-class BA in History, and an MA in Social and Cultural History from the University of Leeds where she was funded by the Beresford Scholarship. She also holds a PGCE in Secondary History from Leeds Trinity University - where she was a departmental award-winner - and has previously worked in Admin and Communications for the Minnesota Nurses Association before coming to Cambridge. Outside of work, Carley enjoys spending time with her son and reading too many novels.
Rachel Lawrence - Administration and Communications Assistant
Rachel is responsible for supporting the day-to-day running of the department. She holds a BA in English and Classics from Wolfson College, University of Cambridge and is studying for an MA in Law from the University of Law. She has previously worked in various social media, marketing and communications roles around Cambridge and Canterbury. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys painting, climbing, reading, fencing, archery and film.
Farhana Easita - Research Assistant
Farhana is responsible for supporting the day-to-day management of research studies. She is particularly interested in immunology; as an undergraduate she completed a four-month project in an immunology lab focusing on innate lymphoid cells and T cell biology. Farhana graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2019 with a BSc in Biomedical Science. Before joining the Urological Malignancies programme, she worked in the BRC Phenotyping Hub providing laboratory and flow cytometry services to group across the Biomedical Campus. Farhana describes herself as a "jack of all trades" when it comes to crafts; she's mastered knitting, baking, painting, polymer clay models and loves a bit of DIY.
Jessica Kitt - YKST Project Manager
Jessica is the Project Manager for the Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST). She has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Durham and joins the team after many years at GlaxoSmithKline where she held a senior global marketing role, focusing on pharmaceutical market research and insight. She is a PRINCE2 Agile practitioner and a LEAN 6 Sigma green belt and has extensive project management experience. Jessica loves taking part in sporting activities, in particular running, cycling, hockey and golf, and describes herself as an entrepreneurial team player who likes to make things happen.
Helen Su - Research Assistant
Helen is responsible for supporting the day-to-day management of research studies. She has long been interested in understanding cancer and is passionate about improving cancer outcomes. Helen graduated from the University of Kent with a BSc in Biology and went on to achieve an MSc in Cancer at UCL, where she completed a dissertation on patient satisfaction with symptomatic faecal immunochemical testing - a recently implemented element of the colorectal cancer diagnostic pathway. Her dissertation has since been peer-reviewed and published as part of a larger mixed-methods study in the British Journal of General Practice. Outside of work, Helen enjoys going out for long walks, travelling and exploring new places and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
Rasha Shawky - Data Manager
Rasha is responsible for managing the electronic records for the ARTIST study. She holds a B.Sc. in Communication Engineering from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. Previously, she served as the IBD Bioresource Data Manager at Cambridge University, where she oversaw the setup and administration of Redcap systems, data mapping, and reporting for over 100 NHS trusts across the UK.
In her free time, Rasha enjoys walking, painting, and gardening.
Gemma Tsang-Pells - Translational Research Manager
Coming soon.
Cyra Ocariza - Research Nurse
Coming soon.