Our agenda, scientific committee and speakers

Our second Data-Driven Cancer Research Conference includes three days of scientific sessions, networking, panel discussions and much more.

Meet our scientific committee

Andi Roy

Professor of Paediatric Haematology, University of Oxford

Claude Chelala

Professor of Bioinformatics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London

Debbie Keatley

Patient affiliate

Ellen Bisci

Patient affiliate

Michael Cuthbert

Director, National Quantum Computing Centre

Raj Jena

Professor of AI in Radiation Oncology, University of Cambridge Department of Oncology and Cambridge University Hospitals

Shaumya Kularajan

Patient affiliate

Tony Ng

Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology Translational Research, GSK

Explore our agenda

Tuesday 24 Feb 2026 (Day 1)

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09:00–10:00	Registration, networking and poster set-up
10:00–10:15	Welcome Catherine Elliott, Cancer Research UK John Marsh, use MY data
10:15–10:55	Keynote address: Quantum technologies for healthcare Michael Cuthbert, UK National Quantum Computing Centre
10:55–11:25	Networking break
11:25–13:15	Emerging technologies for cancer research: spotlight on quantum Co-Chairs: Michael Cuthbert, UK National Quantum Computing Centre Isabella Topley, patient advocate Speakers: Chris Phillips, Imperial College London/ Digistain Jan Lukas Robertus, Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals Jack Hart, University of Cambridge Elica (Elitsa) Kyoseva, NVIDIA
13:15–14:15	Lunch and posters
14:15–15:30	Panel: Driving the next era of cancer research: data and collaborative innovation Co-chairs: Catriona Hoey, patient advocate Panellists: Anita Grigoriadis Pharos AI Gregory Verghese, Pharos AI Lara Edwards, Health Data Research UK Ashley Akbari, Swansea University Sunil Dolwani, Cardiff University
15:35–16:00	Introduction to the CRUK Data Community Special Interest Groups
16:00–16:30	Networking break
16:30–17:45	Roundtable sessions: what will the next five years of data driven cancer research look like? Facilitators: Andrew Blake, University of Oxford Joe Day, Cancer Research UK Charlotte George, University of Oxford Toral Gathani, University of Oxford Jasmine Handford, King’s College London Loïc Lannelongue, University of Cambridge Colin McLean, University of Edinburgh Charlotte Moss, King’s College London Charlotte Palmer, Cancer Research UK Frances Pearl, University of Sussex Gareth Price, University of Manchester Susana Roman Garcia, Health Information Consulting Ltd Chris Tso, Cancer Research UK Mieke Van Hemelrijck, King’s College London Ceilidh Welsh, University of Cambridge Sarah Wooller, University of Sussex
17:50–18:35	Closing keynote
18:35–18:40	Closing remarks Melissa Lewis-Brown, Cancer Research UK
18:40–19:30	Drinks and networking reception

Wednesday 25 Feb 2026 (Day 2)

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08:30–09:00	Registration and networking
09:00–09:10	Welcome back Melissa Lewis-Brown, Cancer Research UK Nicolas Vinogradov-Wouters, patient advocate
09:10–09:50	Keynote: Why children are key to responsible AI Mhairi Aitken, The Alan Turing Institute
09:55–10:45	Session 3: AI-enabled target/drug discovery Co-chairs: Greg Hannon, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute Ellen Bisci, patient advocate Speakers: Vanessa Smer Barreto, University of Edinburgh Flash talks: How strong is your driver? Machine learning and structural features predict driver mutation strength and clinical outcomes Noa Klugman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem MANIFEST: multiomic platform for cancer immunotherapy Kevin Mulder, The Francis Crick Institute Bridging expert-led spatial–multimodal omics analysis and AI integration in the POETIC breast cancer trial (NCT02338310) Xixuan Zhu, The Institute of Cancer Research
10:45–11:15	Networking break
11:15–12:50	AI-accelerated early detection of cancer using imaging and multimodal data Co-chair: Raj Jena, University of Cambridge Ace Manthey, Amazon EU / patient affiliate Speakers: Jacqui Shaw, University of Leicester Heba Sailem, King’s College London Konstantinos Zormpas-Petridis, Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic Flash talk: Use of AI for the early detection of upper GI cancers from routine blood tests Victoria Moglia, University of Leeds
12:50–13:50	Lunch and posters
13:50–15:20	Advances in AI and computation in personalised radiation therapy Co-chairs: Bill Nailon, University of Edinburgh Shaumya Kularajan, University of Glasgow Speakers: David Noble, Edinburgh Cancer Centre Marianne Aznar, University of Manchester Andre Dekker, Maastro Clinic / Maastricht University Flash talk: Predicting radiotherapy toxicity using machine learning and large datasets Tim Rattay, University of Leicester
15:20–15:50	Networking break
15:50–16:50	Panel: AI in Population Genomics—where are we now, and where are we headed? Co-chairs: Richard Lee, The Royal Marsden and Institute of Cancer Research Early Diagnosis and Detection Centre Esme Radin, Edinburgh Western General Patients Group and ICPV Speakers: Kiley Graim, University of Florida Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Institute of Cancer Research
16:55–17:40	Keynote: Agent AI and the future of drug discovery and development Bissan Al-Lazikani, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
17:40–17:45	Closing remarks Melissa Lewis-Brown, Cancer Research UK
17:45–19:00	Networking drinks reception (with bowl food)

Thursday 26 February 2026 (Day 3)

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08:30–09:00	Registration
09:00–09:10	Welcome back Melissa Lewis-Brown, Cancer Research UK Libby Cooper, patient advocate
09:10–09:50	Keynote: Why data matters: enabling large scale population health research in the UK in the 'big data' era Cathie Sudlow, University of Edinburgh
09:55–10:20	Flash talks on the power of health data in personalised medicine Co-chairs: Cathie Sudlow, University of Edinburgh Jak Howell, patient advocate Flash talks: QResearch primary care records linked to national hospital and cancer registry data for personalised medicine: a validation study Sanat Kulkarni, University of Oxford Subsequent primary cancers following colorectal cancer: a population-based retrospective cohort study using the English National Cancer Registry (1995–2022) and the English National Lynch Syndrome Registry Lucy Loong, The Institute of Cancer Research, London Independent contributions of specific Magnetic Resonance Imaging-quantified fat deposits to cancer incidence (UK Biobank): an expert consensus DAG-informed analysis Lee Malcomson, The University of Manchester
10:20–10:50	Networking break
10:50–12:25	Transforming medicine through digital twins Co-chairs: Tony Ng, GSK and King's College London Pippa Slater, Young Lives Vs Cancer Speakers: Walter Kolch, Systems Biology Ireland, University College Dublin Lena Granovsky, GSK Jasmin Fisher, UCL Cancer Institute
12:25–13:25	Lunch and posters
13:25–14:25	Panel: balancing promise and risk - how do we best regulate digital twins and personalised medicine? Co-chairs: Mark Lawler, Queens University Belfast Debbie Keatley, patient advocate Speakers: Angela Aristidou, UCL/Stanford Irina Babina, Concr Daniel Morales, EMEA
14:25–14:55	Networking break
14:55–15:45	Is personalised medicine accessible to all? Biases and opportunities for diverse groups of patients Co-chairs: Melissa Davis, Morehouse School of Medicine Jak Howell, patient advocate Speakers: Anna Schuh, University of Oxford Flash talks: AI-defined Molecular Classifications in Ovarian Cancer (AAIMC-OC) for Equitable Access to Molecular Diagnostics Elaine Leung, University of Birmingham Inequalities in routes to diagnosis, time to diagnosis and time to treatment for individuals with breast cancer in England Tetyana Perchyk, University of Surrey
15:50–16:35	Closing keynote: From bias to breakthroughs: making precision medicine truly inclusive Melissa Davis, Morehouse School of Medicine
16:40–16:50	Closing remarks