CTRad organises Proposal Guidance Meetings up to twice a year, where investigators who have ideas for radiotherapy research are invited to present their proposals for open discussion and feedback from a panel of CTRad experts. The most recent meeting took place in June and, aswell as being a milestone as the tenth meeting, it was also the first meeting where ideas in proton beam therapy (PBT) research were brought to the table.
13 radiotherapy proposals ideas were discussed at the half-day meeting; including multiple ideas for research in radiotherapy for lung cancer and also multiple ideas in PBT.
Professor Neil Burnet, Chair of CTRad said, “The proposals guidance meetings are always a great way for investigators to bounce ideas around with other experts and gain valuable insights into ways they can further develop their radiotherapy research proposals. They also open up opportunities for networking and collaboration.”
“In this meeting we were especially delighted to see four early ideas in PBT being discussed – this is the first time that ideas around research using PBT have been brought to CTRad and it reflects the growing interest in this area in anticipation of the first PBT centres that will be opening in the UK over the next few years. It’s also a credit to the work that CTRad are doing in starting national conversations about how we’ll develop high-quality research using PBT once the UK centres are open.”
A call for research proposals to be discussed at the next proposals guidance meeting will be announced soon, along with further details of this next meeting.
In the meantime, if you are an investigator working on a radiotherapy-themed clinical research proposal you can approach CTRad’s Radiotherapy Clinical Trials Advisory Service (RADCAS) team for specialist advice.
» Further information on RADCAS (CTRad webpage)