Meet Our Event Chairs & Speakers
Dr Rachel Brooker graduated from Sheffield Medical School in 2008 before joining The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in 2012, following postgraduate medical training at Liverpool University Hospitals. She undertook a doctoral research fellowship in 2017 through the University of Liverpool and Clatterbridge, investigating approaches to minimise long term radiotherapy related toxicity in patients with head and neck cancer. She was awarded her PhD in 2023.
Her research now focuses on inequalities in the incidence, treatment and outcomes of head and neck cancer. She is committed to understanding and reducing disparities affecting patients from socioeconomically deprived communities, with the aim of improving both patient experience and cancer outcomes.
Dr Kevin Chiu is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist, subspecialising in Head and Neck cancer. Dr Chiu is the Lead Head & Neck oncologist at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, the largest non-surgical cancer centre in the South of England covering Northwick Park, Watford, Wexham Park, Luton & Bedfordshire, and East & North Hertfordshire. He is the Head and Neck Cancer Research Lead, as well as the Clinical Lead for Radiation Services of Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
Dr Chiu completed his primary medical degree at University of Manchester. His clinical oncology training was in the Southwest England Deanery. He then successfully completed a senior clinical and research Head & Neck Fellowship at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Canada.
Dr Chiu's research interest include complex targeted radiation such as stereotactic radiotherapy, adaptive radiotherapy, and artificial intelligence. He has won multiple awards for his work in head and neck research and clinical pathway. He has been the Principal Investigator and Chief Investigator for numerous national and international Head and Neck cancer trials. Dr Chiu's contribution of high standard of care to cancer patients has gained him the recognition of National Clinical Impact Award 2023.
Dr Judy Christian trained in Edinburgh and London, where she completed her research MD in IMRT for lung cancer. She has worked as a Consultant in Nottingham since 2004.
Nottingham has a strong culture of clinical trials, and Dr Christian is Principal Investigator on several head and neck cancer trials, including JADE, FIERCE-HN and PROTIS.
Outside of work, she has recently taken up birdwatching, and enjoys cooking and hosting at home. She lives with her husband, one of her three children (who she is gently encouraging to eventually move out), a cat, and a fish, kept safely in separate accommodation.
Dr Will Ince is a Consultant Head and Neck Oncologist and Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, with a clinical and academic focus on the development of novel biomarkers and drug strategies for advanced head and neck cancers.
He leads and contributes to multiple phase 1–3 clinical trials, with particular expertise in bispecific antibodies, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), cancer vaccines and immunotherapy. Dr Ince has been closely involved in the introduction and clinical evaluation of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab in the UK and has advised on multiple NICE technology appraisals.
Alongside his clinical and academic work, he co-hosts Deep Margin with his colleague Ben O’Leary. The podcast brings together experts in head and neck oncology for in-depth discussions of practice-changing trials, emerging science and complex clinical decisions that impact daily practice.
Dr Rob Metcalf is a Medical Oncologist and Clinician Scientist studying Head and Neck Cancers with an academic focus on Salivary Gland Cancers.
Dr Metcalf was awarded his Medical Degree at the University of Manchester in 2004, completed Medical Oncology Higher Specialist Training at The Christie in 2015 and was awarded his PhD in 2016 at having studied in the Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology Lab under Prof Caroline Dive at the CRUK Manchester Institute, developing novel pre-clinical models of lung cancer.
Following his PhD, Dr Metcalf has undertaken post-doctoral research in tumour-immunology in Head and Neck cancers based in the Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research with Prof Tracy Hussell.
He is the UK lead for the International Rare Cancers Initiative Salivary Gland Cancer Group and is setting up an independent research lab focusing on understanding the biology of salivary gland cancers to develop new therapies.
Dr Robin Prestwich is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds.
He was appointed in 2012 specialising in the management of head & neck cancer and lymphoma.
He has previously completed a CRUK funded PhD in 2009 and subsequently undertook a one-year fellowship in Nuclear Medicine in 2011.
Ongoing research interests include the use of imaging in radiotherapy, and he has published multiple peer reviewed papers.
Dr Naomi Cole completed her oncology training in South Wales in 2013 and took up a consultant job in H&N in Velindre before relocating in 2017 to the South West.
She works at LTFT as a consultant in Torbay Hospital as radiotherapy lead and treats patients with head and neck cancer and lung SABR.
In 2017 Dr Cole set up the 14 Day Pathway to Radiotherapy for category 1 head and neck cancer patients and this has been embedded within other standard practice.
She lives in Exeter with her husband and 3 girls and spends most Saturdays dragging them on walks around Dartmoor and the coast.
Dr Sally Fouda is a clinical oncologist based at the Kent Oncology Centre.
She graduated from the University of Cairo, in Egypt, in 2007 and finished her training in oncology at the National Cancer Institute of Egypt in 2013.
Dr Fouda received a Master’s in clinical oncology in 2013 and an MD degree in head and neck reirradiation from Cairo University in 2024.
She started practising in the UK in 2022 in the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, and obtained Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists in 2024.
Dr Fouda joined the Kent Oncology Centre team in 2024 as a consultant. She has a great passion for her work and has a particular interest in clinical research.
Dr Dinos Geropantas is a Head and Neck clinical oncologist based at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS FT where he has worked as a consultant since 2010.
He has a particular interest in Head & Neck cancer clinical research and has served as the head & neck subspecialty lead for the Eastern CRN (2014–2024). He is an expert reviewer of Head & Neck cancer trials for the NIHR and has participated in study design focus groups and TMG/TSCs.
He has been involved in the development of national guidelines and consensuses in Head & Neck cancer (RCR guidelines on radiotherapy dose/fractionation, RCR Head & Neck consensus statements 2021 etc) and has contributed to more than 30 Head & Neck cancer papers and abstracts published in peer-review journals or presented at national and international meetings.
Dr Haridass studied medicine at the Stanley Medical College in Chennai and completed specialist oncology training at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
After undertaking a stereotactic radiotherapy fellowship in Canada, where he trained in treating brain and spine tumours with the Cyberknife radiotherapy system, he worked at The Royal Marsden Hospital as a consultant neuro-oncologist for a year.
Dr Haridass rejoined Clatterbridge in 2013 as a clinical oncologist treating head and neck and thoracic cancers, with a special interest in stereotactic radiotherapy. He is committed to providing patient-centred, evidence-based and individualised care for all his patients.
Professor Terry Jones is Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Liverpool and Director of the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre.
He also serves as Group Director of Research and Innovation for University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, Executive Director for Research and Impact at Liverpool Health Partners, and Director of the NIHR Cheshire and Merseyside Commercial Research Delivery Centre.
He is an Honorary Consultant Otolaryngologist and Head and Neck Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Professor Jones' main clinical interest is function-sparing cancer surgery, particularly transoral laser microsurgery (TLM). His research spans four key areas: basic and translational research, including the molecular biology behind differing treatment responses in HPV-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancers; early and late phase clinical trials, where he serves as Joint Chief Investigator for several Cancer Research UK-funded head and neck studies (PATHOS, PATHOS-T, PATHOS-10 and EORTC 1420) and co-investigator for the PROTIS trial; clinical outcomes research, with a particular focus on swallowing and voice outcomes following TLM; and cancer inequalities, and their impact on the incidence and outcomes of head and neck cancer.
Dr Sabina Khan is a Consultant Head and Neck Therapeutic Radiographer working at UCLH, specialising in radiotherapy, proton beam therapy, and survivorship care.
She leads the UK's first therapeutic radiographer-led head and neck late effects service, helping to transform how long term care is delivered for people living beyond cancer.
Passionate about connecting successful treatment with meaningful quality of life outcomes, Sabina champions personalised and equitable care throughout the patient journey.
Her work highlights the inequalities experienced by marginalised communities, ensuring that innovation in head and neck oncology remains rooted in compassion, curiosity, and a drive to create lasting change.
Dr Matthew Lowe is a consultant clinical scientist and proton therapy physics lead at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Since completing a PhD in robustness to uncertainties in proton therapy in 2017, he has been involved in the commissioning, development and delivery of the clinical service at the proton therapy centre at The Christie.
Dr Alastair McCabe is a consultant clinical oncologist at Nottingham University Hospitals, specialising in head and neck cancer and skull base tumours.
His research interests seek to combine his medical and physics backgrounds to develop clinically relevant novel applications of MRI to radiotherapy.
He completed his PhD in the field of hypoxia imaging in head and neck cancer.
Professor Chris Nutting has completed several UK randomised controlled trials aiming to maximise cure rates and reduce side effects of head and neck radiotherapy. He is an international expert in his field and lectures extensively in the UK and Worldwide on advances in head and neck cancer treatment.
Dr Sarah Hargreaves was appointed Consultant Clinical Oncologist at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in October 2021. She currently specialises in Head and Neck and CUP, in addition to SABR for HPB cancers.
Prior to taking a consultant post, Sarah completed a 3 year Clinical Research Fellowship at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, and was involved in setting up the PEARL study, looking at biological response based adaptive radiotherapy in HPV positive OPSCC.
Sarah was awarded an MD at Cardiff University in 2024.
Sarah is currently an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Bristol University.
She is oncology lead for the Head and Neck 5000 study.
Her research interests include Head and Neck palliative radiotherapy, long term radiotoxicity and patient reported outcomes, and the improvement in equity of access to clinical studies.
She lives in Bristol with her husband and two young sons.
Dr Ben O’Leary leads the Evolution & Translational Genomics Group at The Institute of Cancer Research and is an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at The Royal Marsden Hospital.
Ben's research is focused on understanding the evolution of resistance to cancer therapies in head and neck cancers, including the use of liquid biopsies.
He leads several translational studies and clinical trials at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden.
Christian Ottensmeier graduated and began his training at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, Germany. After a training fellowship in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, he moved to Southampton in 1994, where he completed his oncology training.
Following completion of his PhD on the molecular immunology of B-cells in the laboratory of Freda Stevenson, he became a Consultant in Medical Oncology at Southampton University Hospitals and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton in 2001.
In 2007 he was appointed to Chair in Experimental Cancer Medicine in Southampton and in 2019 to an Adjunct Professorship at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, CA, USA.
Christian joined the University of Liverpool and the Head and Neck Centre as Professor of Immuno-Oncology in August 2020. He served as Director of Clinical Research at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre from 2020 to September 2025.
Christian’s core interest is the understanding and improvement of immune responses in patients; his aim is to develop immunotherapies against solid cancers. His work focuses on three linked but distinct areas of: the study of cancer-specific immune responses in patients, development and validation of tests to measure these; the aim of both is to enable studies in patients to understand how immune responses to cancer can be improved for clinical benefit of patients.
During his time in Southampton, he set up and developed a research-focussed melanoma service, with a specialist interest in ocular melanoma.
Since 2020 his focus has increasingly become immunology and immunotherapy of head and neck cancer and lung cancers; this is his clinical focus in Liverpool.
Integrated with his clinical practice, he runs a laboratory programme examining the role and interplay of innate and adaptive immune cells in lung cancer and head and neck cancer.
This work is underpinned by systematic tissue collection, to which ~4000 patients have been recruited since 2015. He has a keen interested in developing early phase immunotherapy trials.
He manages a broad portfolio of clinical trials in solid cancers; he has co-developed a number of national and international trials.
He has served on a number of national and international peer review committees as well as on advisory boards and DSMBs for industry led studies. He is the early phase subspecialty lead on the CRN North West Coast Region, he is a member of EATI, the Cancer Vaccines Expert Working Group, the Scientific Strategy Committee for Breast Cancer Now and the Scientific Advisory Board for Cancer Research Malaysia.
He is also a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Immunotherapy of Cancer and the BSI Journal “Immunotherapy Advances”.
Dr Tom Roques MRCP FRCR is a consultant clinical oncologist in Norwich specialising in head and neck and thyroid cancers and is clinical director for NATCAN, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre.
From 2022-2025, he was Vice-President, Clinical Oncology (CO) at the Royal College of Radiologists, providing professional leadership to clinical oncologists and trainees at the 60 UK cancer centres, championing the role of the oncology workforce at a national level and helping to shape UK cancer policy.
He is passionate about reducing unnecessary variation through sharing best practice and about the value of the clinical oncology model worldwide. In a previous RCR role he led the national radiotherapy consent form project which was awarded cancer team of the year at the 2021 BMJ awards.
He helped coordinate the national oncology response to the Covid pandemic, so that services were successfully maintained and adapted throughout the UK.
He is one of the four authors of the ‘red book’ (Practical Radiotherapy Planning) and has written many other book chapters.
Ms Somiah Siddiq is a Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon and Clinical Lead for the Robotics Programme at University Hospitals Birmingham, UK.
Her clinical expertise focuses on the management of head and neck and thyroid malignancies.
She has contributed to several national and international consensus initiatives, including the RoboDev Key Requirements and Recommendations for Developing and Expanding Global Robotic Surgical Programmes, the European TORS Guidelines, and the UK national multi-specialty robotic surgery training curriculum and its implementation for trainees.
She serves as Chair of the Head and Neck Expert Advisory Group for the West Midlands cancer alliance and, nationally, as Secretary of the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists.
Dr Emma Hallam is a clinical leader and educator in cancer survivorship and the management of consequences of treatment.
In 2013, she developed the award-winning Macmillan Nottingham Radiotherapy Late Effects Clinic. As the first bespoke service of its kind in the UK, the clinic provides a vital pathway for patients navigating the complex physical and psychological challenges that can emerge following radiotherapy.
A dedicated researcher and clinician, Emma specialises in the mechanisms of Radiation-Induced Fibrosis (RIF). Her work focuses on the integration of innovative clinical interventions, specifically the use of Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, to manage and mitigate this debilitating, lifelong condition.
Emma’s holistic focus ensures patients can "live well" beyond diagnosis, advocating for moving beyond the simple acknowledgement of late effects toward a future defined by robust research, clinical guidelines, and high-impact therapeutic innovation.
Dr Petra Jankowska has been a Consultant Clinical Oncologist in Somerset since 2007, specialising in Lung and Head & Neck cancers.
She is a founding member of the Wales and South West Head & Neck Oncology Group – a network of H&N colleagues who meet and share complex cases for discussion and learning.
Between March 2010 and March 2023, she held successive medical leadership roles at the Trust -Service Lead for Oncology, Clinical Director for Haematology, Oncology and Palliative Care, Associate Medical Director for Cancer, Diagnostics and Specialist Support Services - overseeing two mergers during this time. These roles were managed alongside two national voluntary roles, at Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Petra remained clinically active in her site specialist areas during this time, additionally taking on Chief Investigator and Principal Investigator roles in various clinical trials for her patients.
Since September 2024, Petra has held the position of Medical Director for Professional Practice at RCR. In this role, she provides oversight regarding professional practice – clinical guidelines, consensus statements, consent forms, and the annual Clinical Oncology RCR Workforce Census – to all post CCT members and Fellows and supports the Clinical Oncology Heads of Radiotherapy service in each of the 60 Radiotherapy Centres in the UK.
Since 2024, she additionally holds the lead role in Somerset Foundation Trust for Inclusive Medical Leadership.
Petra considers herself is an evidence-based compassionate pragmatist – make of that what you will!
Dr Saira Khalique qualified from the University of St Andrews and Manchester University and undertook clinical training at The Christie, Manchester, The Edinburgh Cancer Centre and University College London Hospitals.
Her PhD was at the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden.
As a Medical Oncology Consultant at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, she is focused on setting up clinical trials and is UK Chief Investigator/Principal Investigator (PI) for head and neck studies and gynaecological cancer studies.
She is the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) East of England Cancer co-lead, Honorary Senior Lecturer at Brunel University, London, and a member of the Gynae-oncology Trials Group UK (GTG-UK).
She has published research articles, reviews, and book chapters.