Friends of the Cancer Centre Scholarship Winners 2019

Each year, Friends of the Cancer Centre invests in the training and development of the staff within cancer services through our Scholarship programme. Since 2008, our scholarships have been providing the opportunity for staff within cancer services to receive funding which enables them to attend training or educational courses. Staff can enhance their skills and remain at the forefront of latest medical developments in cancer treatment and research, which will ultimately benefit local cancer patients.

The Friends of the Cancer Centre scholarships are dedicated to late friends and colleagues Dr Gary McGowan, Pamela Lutton and Pearl Ewing, all of whom were passionate advocates of professional excellence providing improved care and support for local patients. We are delighted to announce the winners of the scholarships for 2019:

The Dr Gary McGowan Scholarship is awarded each year to oncology trainees seeking to enhance their career. This year the scholarship has been awarded to Dr Kirsty Taylor, to support her current fellowship in Precision Cancer Medicine between Queen’s University Belfast, Centre for Cancer Research & Cell Biology and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto. The scholarship has also enabled Kirsty to attend the Manchester Cancer Research Centre Phase 1: Where Science Becomes Medicine meeting, enhancing her skills in delivering high quality, research-led care for local cancer patients.

The Pamela Lutton Scholarship is open to all therapy radiographers working in cancer services to fund a training or educational course. Emma Morrow, therapeutic radiographer at the NI Cancer Centre, has been awarded the scholarship for this year. The scholarship will allow Emma to complete the dissertation section of her masters programme in Enhanced Radiotherapy and Oncology Practice. By completing her masters, Emma will be able to use her advanced knowledge to influence future practice within the Radiotherapy department.

The final scholarship is dedicated to the memory of late friend and trustee of the charity, Pearl Ewing, and is open to all health care professionals working in cancer services. This year Christina Agnew, principal clinical scientist within the Radiotherapy physics department, has been awarded the scholarship to allow her to attend the ESTRO School on Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT). Attendance at the ESTRO School will increase Christina’s expertise on new imagining techniques, as she seeks to implement new advanced IGRT techniques for patient treatment at the NI Cancer Centre.

We will be catching up with our winners later in the year to find out how their scholarship has helped them impact on the treatment and care provided for local cancer patients.