We are pleased to announce that, following an open competitive recruitment process, Prof Mererid Evans has been appointed as NCRI Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Group (CTRad) Deputy Chair.

Mererid has taken over from Prof. David Sebag-Montefiore who has served in the role for the last three years and who has recently taken over the Chair position from Prof. Anthony Chalmers when the positions formally rotated on 23 April 2019.

Mererid is Consultant Clinical Oncologist at Velindre Cancer Centre and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool, specialising in head and neck cancer and leads a number of clinical trials, including PATHOS, Best-of and PEARL; she also has background of laboratory-based research, having studied the immune response to HPV-transformed cervical cancer cells for her PhD. She has developed close working relationships with radiotherapy researchers from across the UK and was involved in the NCRI Head and Neck Group. She is also currently Clinical R&D Lead for the Velindre Charitable Fund’s ‘Moondance’ Programme Board.

Mererid says, “I am really honoured to be joining the leadership team of an initiative that has become a cornerstone of the UK radiotherapy research community. I have experienced for myself the critical importance of the support and guidance given by CTRad to investigators who are navigating the oftentimes difficult and unfamiliar path towards setting up a new radiotherapy clinical trial. I would like share my experiences and utilise the relationships I have developed with UK and international colleagues to ensure that NCRI’s CTRad achieves its strategic vision and continues to work as a collaborative and multidisciplinary community”.

Prof. David Sebag-Montefiore, new Chair of CTRad says,“NCRI’s CTRad has made great progress over the last 10 years. We champion collaborative research by bringing together differing research communities. Mererid’s experience of leading multi-centre radiotherapy trials will play a key role in delivering CTRad’s research strategy”.