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PROTECTOR

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  1. PROTECTOR Study (BCI)
  2. Information for health professionals
  3. Meet our team
  4. Trial Steering Committee​

Trial Steering Committee​

Mr Tim Mould (Chair)

 

Ms Caroline Presho

Caroline brings over 15 years of experience as a patient advocate having engaged with the BRCA1/2 community on many levels.  After a family member was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, Caroline found she was at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She underwent genetic testing and was found to carry a BRCA2 mutation. Caroline chose to have a risk-reducing double mastectomy and a Bilateral Salpingo Oophorectomy (Removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) to reduce her risk of developing the related cancers. In 2011, Caroline took over BRCA Umbrella, an online support forum for people with BRCA1/2 gene pathogenic variants, recognising the lack of peer-to-peer support in the community. Caroline provides strategic input into research and regularly advises the charity sector. She has over 25 media appearances, all related to issues individuals at high risk of cancer face.

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Professor Gareth Evans

​Professor Evans has established a national and international reputation in clinical and research aspects of cancer genetics, particularly in neurofibromatosis and breast cancer. He has developed a clinical service for cancer genetics in the North West Region of England, which is nationally regarded. He is an important opinion leader nationally through membership of committees and was chairman of the NICE Familial Breast Cancer Guideline Development Group (2002-2010) and is now clinical lead (2011-). He lectures throughout the UK and internationally on hereditary breast cancer and cancer syndromes.  
Prof Evans has published 1180 peer reviewed research publications; 389 as first or senior author. He has published over 160 reviews and chapters and has had a book published by Oxford University Press on familial cancer. He has an ISI web of knowledge H-index of 156 and google scholar of 201 having only published his first article in 1990. In the last 8 years he has raised over £55 million in grants for multicentre and local studies – approximately £45 million to Manchester. He is Chief Investigator on two NIHR program grants (2009-2014-£1.59 million) (2017-2020-£1million) on breast cancer risk prediction and also has an NIHR RfPB grant as CI (2011). He has led a successful bid for a nationally funded NF2 service (£7.5 million pa) that started in 2010 and is involved in the national complex NF1 service. He is overall cancer lead (3 themes) and Cancer Prevention Early Detection theme lead on the successful all Manchester NIHR Biomedical research centre bid (2017-2022-£28.5million). He is lead clinician on the NICE familial breast cancer guideline group and until recently a trustee of Breast Cancer Now and the Neuro Foundation. He is on the editorial board of JNCI and is a board member of the Science Strategy Committee of Breast Cancer Now. He was elected a fellow of the learned Society of Wales (FLSW) in 2020 and FRCOG ad eundem in 2021.

 

Professor Usha Menon

Professor Usha Menon is Professor of Gynaecological Oncology with a research focus on early detection of cancer. She is Lead for Training and Capacity Strengthening at the MRC CTU at University College London, UK. She is also an honorary consultant gynaecologist at UCLH NHS Trust. 

An experienced trialist, Usha has over 400 publications with a key focus on early detection and risk prediction of ovarian cancer. Her group is best known for the largest ovarian cancer screening trials to date – The UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) and the UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study (UKFOCSS). that have shaped current guidelines. The trial bioresources include unique collections of serial samples that predate cancer diagnosis and support numerous collaborations exploring novel biomarkers for early detection of cancer. 

In recent years, a major focus has been strengthening clinical trials capacity, especially in low-middle-income countries. Contributions include a clinical trials toolkit and an ethics application platform for India, an MRC CTU knowledge hub on The Global Health Network, setting up training and exchange bursaries for LMIC trialists, and helping partner organisations develop Masters's programmes in Clinical Trials.​

 

Mr Andy Nordin

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