Our trustees

Baroness Delyth Morgan

NCRI Chair

Baroness Morgan is the Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Now and sits as a cross bench peer in the House of Lords. She spent 10 years at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, as the charity’s first Chief Executive, before which she worked at Shelter, Workplace Nurseries Campaign and Asthma UK. Delyth is a science graduate and Fellow of University College London.

After becoming a life peer she was appointed to Government in 2007, when she served as Children’s Minister for the Department of Children Schools and Families, Minister for Intellectual Property and Quality at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills and Government spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions in the House of Lords.

Mary Basterfield

Mary is a qualified accountant, and was Group Finance Director at Just Eat until 2020. Her experience spans e-commerce, media, strategy, and financial management of businesses undergoing rapid change. Her previous roles include chief financial officer at Hotels.com and at Warner Music International. Mary is also currently a non executive director for the Royal Free London and a trustee of University College London Union, and she has previously served as a non-executive director and chair of audit committee for Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Dr Helen Campbell

Helen Campbell is Portfolio Manager for Department of Health Research Networks, Cancer Research, and Clinical Research Facilities. She is based at Exeter University Medical School and works full-time on behalf of the Department of Health. After obtaining a PhD in biochemistry, Helen worked in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry, before taking up post in 1994 as manager of the first NHS National Cancer R&D Programme. Since then, Helen has been involved in every major national development in cancer research in the NHS, including the establishment of the National Cancer Research Network and the National Cancer Research Institute.

Dr Matthew Hobbs

Matthew Hobbs joined Prostate Cancer UK as Deputy Director of Research in 2013, and was appointed as Director of Research in 2020.

Through a period where the charity’s focus has increasingly been placed on funding and translating research that can make a difference for men diagnosed with or at risk of prostate cancer.

Matthew has been responsible for in-year delivery of the charity’s research business plans; has contributed to development of new charity and research strategies; and, with his team, has delivered several targeted research funding schemes and changed how the charity performs horizon scanning, impact assessment, and response mode funding.

Angus McNair

Angus McNair is a NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Surgery at the University of Bristol and Specialist Registrar in colorectal surgery. He trained in Bristol and the south west of England and completed his doctorate in 2011. His research interests include doctor-patient communication in cancer care, patient and public involvement in research prioritisation and randomised trial methodology.

Dr Alastair Rankin

Alasdair Rankin was Director of Research at Blood Cancer UK from 2016-2020. Previously he was Director of Research at Diabetes UK from 2012 to 2015 where he developed the organisations current research strategy, including leading the establishment of diabetes Clinical Studies Groups and broadening engagement of people living with diabetes in research. He began working for research funders at Cancer Research UK, where he held various roles including leading the research funding operations team and establishing and leading the research strategy team, contributing to the development and implementation of Cancer Research UK’s 2011-15 research strategy.

Cathy Scivier

Cathy Scivier was a member of the leadership team at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London for fourteen years, initially as HR Director and latterly as Chief Operating Officer, where a key part of the role was liaison with cancer research funding bodies. Cathy left the ICR in early 2016 to relocate to the north-west of England and now lives in Lancashire. From 2012-2016 she was the ICR’s nominated Governor on the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust’s Governing Body. She has an MSc in HR Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Prior to joining the ICR she spent over 20 years in healthcare management in the NHS in south west London. She is also a trustee of a number of other charities including the Syncona Foundation, a grant giving charity and n-Compass North West and advocacy and wellbeing charity. Cathy is also an Independent Member of the Audit Committee of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Sarah Woolnough

Sarah Woolnough was Executive Director of Policy and Information at Cancer Research UK (CRUK) before being named as the new chief executive of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation.

Sarah joined CRUK in 2005 as a policy officer and joined CRUK Board in 2012. Sarah has sat on a number of national working groups and has served as a trustee of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and health charity Bliss.