Five Minutes With... Dr Alison Berner
From cancer inequalities to co-producing research with patients and communities, Dr Alison Berner shares what inspired her career, the research she’s most excited about, and her hopes for the future of cancer prevention and care.
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In our latest Five Minutes With…, we speak to Dr Alison Berner about what first inspired her career in research, the project she’s most excited about right now, and what she has learned from working alongside patients and communities to shape research.
Alison also shares her hopes for the future of cancer prevention and early detection, and why meaningful collaboration with patients can lead to some of the most creative and clinically relevant solutions in research.
About Alison
Dr Alison Berner is a Clinical Senior Lecturer and NIHR Advanced Fellow at Queen Mary University of London, as well as an Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology. Her research focuses on cancer screening, health equity and improving cancer care for LGBTQ+ and transgender and gender-diverse communities.
Your research spans cancer screening, early detection and health equity. What first inspired you to work in this area?
My first inspiration came from seeing a clinical academic here at Queen Mary treating a patient with ovarian cancer and then going back to the bench to do research. I decided that was what I wanted to do too!
The health equity lens came later, through seeing the disparities in care experienced by LGBTQ+ people during my clinical work and wanting to address those inequalities through my own research.
You're involved in some exciting work, from HPV self-testing to improving cancer care for transgender and gender-diverse people. What project are you most excited about right now, and why?
The project I'm most excited about right now is TRANSforming Cancer Care, my NIHR fellowship research. I have the most amazing group of community advisors and public collaborators with lived experience, who are helping me to co-produce all four studies at every step of the way. They are so engaged and inspire me every day.
If you could change one thing about cancer prevention or early detection over the next five years, what would it be?
I'd love to see a paradigm shift for cancers that tend to present late and with non-specific symptoms. I know there is already great work going on at WIPH to improve this for ovarian cancer, which I treat clinically. Pancreatic cancer is another example, and it can often affect people who struggle to access healthcare, so I'd love to see improvements for them too.
Collaboration is central to your work. What have you learned from working across different disciplines and with patients to shape research?
People will often tell you that working with patients is difficult, or that they need vastly scaled-back materials to review, but I have found that they can be far more than passive contributors, bringing some of the most creative and novel solutions to research challenges.
Patients can provide some of the most creative and novel solutions to research challenges, and can help you decide which questions are most clinically relevant.
What advice would you give to someone starting a career in cancer research today?
Some of your most important early collaborations can be with charity organisations. They can support you in so many ways, and you can learn new skills while also contributing to their growth.
They can be great allies when working with clinical groups, patients and policymakers. I am so grateful for my longstanding partnership with OUTpatients, the LGBTQ+ cancer charity, and more recently with The Eve Appeal and Movember too.
Quick-fire questions
Tea or coffee?
Coffee
A book you've enjoyed recently?
London Falling — it's crazy what we don't know is happening around us in London!
One thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I used to be a cheerleader!
If you weren't a doctor or researcher, what would you be doing?
Maybe I'd teach Latin dance, which I love, but don't get to do enough!
We hope you've enjoyed getting to know Alison and hearing her perspective. Look out for more Five Minutes With… conversations with colleagues and collaborators working across cancer prevention and early detection.
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