A half-day conference on 19th January 2010 hosted at the British Library Conference Centre in partnership with the NCRI Informatics Initiative.
The event brought together members of the various communities who contribute to the generation and movement of knowledge and information in cancer research to address the challenges and potential solutions associated with translating cancer research findings. This included researchers, clinicians, funders, policy-makers, journalists, press, patient groups and the public. Together, we examined the challenges to the effective movement of information and how key messages may be misinterpreted and how these can be combated, to unlock the full potential of research findings in different contexts and to prevent cancer research being ‘lost in translation’.
The day was introduced by Sir Ken Calman (left), NCRI chair and member of the BL board. He welcomed attendees and encouraged them to share their views and practical ideas on how things can be taken forward in the “vibrant UK cancer research community”.
Find out what our expert speakers had to say about these challenges and solutions:
Conference Themes
Session1 : From Bench-to-Beside
Why do some findings in cancer research never make it out of the lab?
Session 1 was chaired by Prof. John Gribben, Director, Centre for Experimental Cancer Medicine. He stressed the need for “basic translational individuals who can speak both languages”, for the UK to remain at the forefront in this area. Prof. David Cameron, Head of Cancer Services, Edinburgh University, used a series of anecdotes to illustrate the barriers to transferring discoveries and developments from the laboratory to the clinic.
Meanwhile Monica Jones, Head of Architecture and Data Standards, NHS Information Centre spoke about the seamless “end to end flow of information about us” and the role of informatics and associated technologies in enabling this.
From Research to Policy and Practice
Why are key messages misinterpreted and policy decisions misunderstood?
Session 2 was chaired by Prof. Herbie Newell, Professor of Cancer Therapeutics, Northern Institute of Cancer Research. He began by saying that “these are the most exciting times ever in cancer research” with huge strides in understanding having been made in recent years, but emphasised that more can still be done. Prof. Peter Littejohns, Clinical and Public Health Director, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provided an overview of the steps involved in ensuring the best scientific evidence is utilised to inform decisions about clinical practice.
From Journal to Newspaper
Is the public getting the full picture about cancer research?
Session 3 was chaired by Mr. David Ardron, Chair of the NCRI Consumer Liaison Group and speaking in this session was Dr. Ben Goldacre (left), medical doctor and author of the Guardian’s newspaper’s Bad Science column. Dr. Goldacre examined “whether the media can be relied on to effectively communicate scientific research to the public”.
In addition to these insightful presentations and lively Q&A sessions, the delegates had the opportunity to view technology demonstrations of IT solutions such as the Research Information Centre and UKPMC and ONIX and to network and exchange information.
For further information, see the NCRI website.
