Our team

Iain Frame

Chief Executive Officer

Iain joined the NCRI as Chief Executive Officer in August 2018. Previously he was Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK, leading the charity in key areas of business including, strategic planning, budget management, staff development and ensuring the successful delivery of the charity’s bold and ambitious strategy. Iain has also been involved with NCRI as a previous member of the NCRI Board of Trustees. Prior to his role at Prostate Cancer UK, Iain held the post of Research Director at Diabetes UK for five years, during which time he took forward its funding of high quality, internationally acclaimed studies and worked with the fundraising teams to help almost double the organisation’s research spend. Iain started in the world of charitable research funding with the Wellcome Trust, following many years actively involved in research as a parasitologist.

Iain is a strong advocate of getting results by developing partnerships and using innovative approaches to support the research community.

Nicola Keat

Head of Research Groups

After completing a degree in Biological Sciences (with a placement year working at Novartis), Nicola moved into the research funding arena, working in the Clinical Trials Team at Cancer Research UK. Nicola joined the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) as Head of Research Groups in April 2015, providing leadership and strategic input into the activities of the NCRI’s Groups, ensuring a collaborative approach to clinical research endeavours. Her team is responsible for the delivery of all activities of the NCRI Groups, currently including the NCRI Groups, Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research (CTRad) Working Group and the Cancer Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) Group. Nicola is also responsible for oversight of all patient involvement in NCRI activities via the NCRI Consumer Forum. In 2017, Nicola completed a Masters of Business Administration with the Open University.

Nicole Leida

Head of Conference and Events

Nicole joined NCRI in June 2015 as Head of Conference and Events. She provides leadership and direction for the strategic development of the NCRI Cancer Conference and other NCRI events while overseeing their operational delivery.

Nicole has a degree in PR and Advertising with an MA in Event Management and a postgraduate certificate in Business Finance and Management. After a brief spell as a graphic designer, Nicole worked as a marketing manager for a fashion company in her native Italy, near Milan.

When she moved to the UK, she worked as an event planner for the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK and various other clients including well-known educational institutions and hospitality establishments. She then joined the Royal Society of Medicine, where she worked for over seven years and was responsible for leading and coordinating the strategic planning function and day-to-day operations of an event team of 30.

Nicole is a full member of the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) and was elected joint-chair in 2014. She currently sits on a number of event management panels as well as industry advisory boards.

Alongside her main job, she is passionate about health and well-being and is also a qualified Nutritional Therapist and yoga teacher.

Ian Lewis

Head of Strategy and Initiatives

Ian took on the role of Head of Strategy and Initiatives in February 2018 (having previously been acting as NCRI’s Head of Clinical Research Groups, maternity cover, since December 2016). As Head of Strategy and Initiatives, Ian is responsible for implementing NCRI’s strategy and overseeing the strategic initiatives that enable NCRI to accelerate cancer research.

His team work to engage with NCRI Partners, and other stakeholders; providing strategic support, data and intelligence.
Prior to joining the NCRI Ian worked at Tenovus Cancer Care as the Director of Research and Policy.

He completed his PhD in 2005 at Cardiff University studying the mechanisms that some breast cancers use to become resistant to common drug treatments.

Ruth McGregor

Head of Business Operations

Ruth joined the NCRI as Head of Business Operations as a contractor in September 2019, taking on the role permanently in December.

Her team is responsible for delivery of NCRI operations including finance, governance, HR, IT and communications.

Ruth is a qualified accountant with a background in finance and procurement. Before joining NCRI, she worked in a variety of not for profit organisations including Transport for London, the Football Association and the Royal Albert Hall, having started her career in the private sector with roles in banking, insurance and IT.