Media corner
Information for journalists
Hello,
Thank you for stopping by. Below you will find more information about the charity and details on the projects the charity funds. You will also find our key spokespeople and our most recent stories and research news.
For all media enquiries, please contact [email protected], or call +44 (0) 300 777 7910.
For urgent out-of-hours media enquiries, please contact [email protected], 07803 624 089.
Please note that these contact details are for media enquiries only. If you are looking to speak to our Supporter Services team, please contact them at [email protected] or on +44 (0)300 777 7910. They’d be delighted to hear from you.
About Worldwide Cancer Research
Worldwide Cancer Research is the UK’s only cancer research charity that starts and funds new cancer cures across the globe. Each year, the charity backs the brightest and best researchers in the UK and worldwide to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. The charity receives no regular government funding and we rely solely on the funds of our supporters to start cancer cures across the world.
Since Worldwide Cancer Research was founded in 1979, cancer survival rates have doubled. But cancer remains the world’s second-biggest killer. To help improve survival rates for cancer, in the last 40 years we have:
• Invested £200m into cancer research worldwide
• Devoted £100m to cancer research in the UK
• Funded 2000 projects in over 30 countries
• Funded 1200 researchers
But 1 in 2 people are still diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. For us, that’s 1 in 2 too many.
Worldwide Cancer Research is currently funding 75 active projects. These are:
- worth over £15,000,000
- across 16 different countries
- into 18 different types of cancer.
£200m
We've invested £200m towards starting new cancer cures
2000 projects
We've funded over 2000 cancer research projects
30 countries
We've funded research in over 30 countries
Charity spokespeople
Dr Helen Rippon, Chief Executive
Dr Helen Rippon became the Chief Executive of the charity after spending four years as the Head of Research. Before joining Worldwide Cancer Research, she held management positions at Prostate Cancer UK and Age UK.
Helen has over seventeen years’ experience in the field of cancer research. She also has a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of York and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Imperial College London.
David Sole OBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees
David Sole played international rugby for Scotland from 1986 to 1992, where he then received an OBE for his services to the sport in 1993. Since then, David has worked with United Distillers and Diageo, Change Partnership and Whitehead Mann and most recently, co-founded the School for CEOs. David is also the writer of a regular column in daily and Sunday national papers.
Laura McLachlan, Director of Marketing and Fundraising
Laura McLachlan is Director of Marketing and Fundraising at Worldwide Cancer Research, responsible for raising the charity’s profile and brand awareness, as well as a wide-ranging portfolio of fundraising and direct marketing including individual giving, legacies and events. Before joining Worldwide Cancer Research, Laura worked in education marketing and spent her early career in journalism and publishing. Laura has a law degree from the University of Glasgow and a masters in journalism studies from Strathclyde University.
Research spokespeople
Dr Olivia Rossanese, Chair of the charity's Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr Olivia Rossanese is a cancer biologist at The Institute of Cancer Research and a drug discovery professional, with extensive academic and pharmaceutical industry experience. She has led or contributed to the discoveries of several cancer drugs and held prominent positions at a number of institutes and drug discovery groups. Dr Rossanese is also the current Chair of our Scientific Advisory Committee – the group of expert scientists that each year help the charity pick the most innovative, high-quality research projects to fund.
Dr Lynn Turner, Director of Research
Dr Lynn Turner is the Director of Research at Worldwide Cancer Research, responsible for the strategic development and operational oversight of the research-funding programme of the Charity. The Research Directorate is responsible for awarding funding, overseeing all active grants, communicating the science, and measuring the impact we are making as a cancer research charity. Lynn has a PhD in immunology from the University of Bath and postdoctoral research experience in a translational cancer research lab.
Dr Gabriela De Sousa, Science Communications Officer
Gabriela is the Science Communications Officer at Worldwide Cancer Research, communicating the charity's research to supporters, the public, and the media. She works with the Science Communications Manager and Research Funding team to incorporate research knowledge into the work of teams across the charity. Gabriela has a PhD in neuroscience and psychology from the University of Glasgow, but through her communications experience she has worked within a range of scientific areas.
Our latest news
How dietary fats help cancer to spread around the body
Researchers in Spain have discovered how fats found in palm oil can help cancer spread and have developed new drugs to stop it from happening.
10 November 2021
New discovery shows how targeting healthy cells could help develop treatments for pancreatic cancer
Researchers in London have made a discovery that reveals new insight into how healthy cells help pancreatic tumours develop, which they hope will lead to the development of new drugs for this hard to treat cancer.
26 January 2022
Will a vegan diet stop me getting cancer?
It’s easy to indulge over the holidays and, now that the new year has rolled in, you’re thinking that now might be the right time to make a change to the way you eat. You may even be taking part in Veganuary or thinking of cutting meat out permanently. We explain what this could mean for your risk of getting cancer.
13 January 2022
Ask our experts!
This video series answers some of the biggest questions we get from members of the public. Visit our YouTube channel for more videos.
Why haven't we cured cancer?
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Can cannabis cure cancer?
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What makes Worldwide Cancer Research different?
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