Interview: Dr Stuart Williamson
Dr Stuart Williamson, now of the Manchester ECMC, is the Chair of the Junior Investigators Network Group
What research do you work on?
I’m a post doctorate researcher, so I’ve completed my PhD and I’m now doing full-time research based at Newcastle University’s Northern Cancer Research Institute which is the local ECMC. I work in prostate cancer research and my work has two main focuses really. Firstly, we look at how the disease develops in normal cells to cause prostate cancer in the first instance. But we are also looking at how these cells are evading therapies. Prostate cancer is an unusual disease in that there are very limited options for fighting it. So we’re looking at the reasons for that and why it evades the current therapeutic treatments we have.
What interest you most about research?
I went into research purely because of the potential for reducing suffering and the reason I went into this aspect of cancer research was that like most people, some of my family and friends have been affected by cancer, some of whom have lost that battle unfortunately. So when I was looking for a career in science I was particularly looking for something that was translational and that might end up making a difference in terms of therapeutic treatments and improving patient outcomes. I focused on prostate cancer because as it’s a disease that mainly affects older people and as our population ages, it will clearly affect more people. Because there are so few effective therapies available there is clearly scope for great progress and improvement.
I went into research purely because of the potential for reducing suffering and the reason I went into this aspect of cancer research was that like most people, some of my family and friends have been affected by cancer, some of whom have lost that battle unfortunately. So when I was looking for a career in science I was particularly looking for something that was translational and that might end up making a difference in terms of therapeutic treatments and improving patient outcomes. I focused on prostate cancer because as it’s a disease that mainly affects older people and as our population ages, it will clearly affect more people. Because there are so few effective therapies available there is clearly scope for great progress and improvement.
What are your own career ambitions?
My ultimate ambition is to work as an independent researcher, starting a lab of my own. I want to eventually develop my own team and, with the support of the ECMC network and groups such as JING, help to add prostate cancer to the list of cancers for which there is a wide range of potential therapeutic treatment options.
Why did you get involved in the Junior Investigator Network Group and what is your role?
In January 2013, the ECMCs organised a training day specifically designed for junior investigators with an interest in translational cancer research, which is me. The event really highlighted for me the great expertise within the ECMC framework. I hadn’t been involved in the ECMCs up until that point and it was an eye opening experience to see all the collaborations that happen between all the centres. I just hadn’t appreciated what a large and diverse network the ECMCs provided and the many benefits and skills sets the different centres bring. For me, one of the reasons I got involved in the new group was to help raise awareness amongst the junior investigator community of the great resources that are available through the ECMCs.
I also got involved because it’s the area of research I want to develop into, specifically cancer therapies.
What has your involvement been so far?
At the moment the group is just starting out. Following on from the training day a group was set up specifically for junior investigators and I was voted in as the initial Chair of the network. So what I and my fellow steering committee members are aiming to do is to set up a framework of training and continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities in addition to exploring the options for greater collaboration for all junior investigators across all the ECMCs.
At the moment the group is just starting out. Following on from the training day a group was set up specifically for junior investigators and I was voted in as the initial Chair of the network. So what I and my fellow steering committee members are aiming to do is to set up a framework of training and continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities in addition to exploring the options for greater collaboration for all junior investigators across all the ECMCs.
For me, it’s a joint project between both clinical and non-clinical junior investigators. I have a clinical deputy Andrew Beggs and between us and the steering group we’re focusing on setting up those opportunities for both clinical and non-clinical colleagues at the start of their career.
What is the objective of the new group?
Junior investigators represent a community of people who share the same goals as the ECMCs themselves. So the reason JING was set up was to create a clear network so junior investigators could contact and support each other, both with research training needs but also in terms of their CPD needs. We also wanted to raise awareness of the ECMC network amongst junior investigators because it is a huge resource where people can work to the same objectives. And we wanted to promote greater interaction and collaboration.
Junior investigators represent a community of people who share the same goals as the ECMCs themselves. So the reason JING was set up was to create a clear network so junior investigators could contact and support each other, both with research training needs but also in terms of their CPD needs. We also wanted to raise awareness of the ECMC network amongst junior investigators because it is a huge resource where people can work to the same objectives. And we wanted to promote greater interaction and collaboration.
Who are the junior investigators?
Well, to be honest, we don’t want to be too restrictive but the way we are treating it is that it is for anyone with an interest in cancer translational therapeutics, for those who are non-clinical and therefore lab based and also for those for whom there aren’t any equivalent support mechanisms, such as post doctorates all the way through to those seeking funding for starting their own laboratory. Essentially, it’s for those researchers who are not established in their career in terms of having their own laboratory and need support on the road to becoming an independent researcher. But essentially, if someone thinks they can benefit from being a part of the group, then we’ll be happy to have their involvement!
Well, to be honest, we don’t want to be too restrictive but the way we are treating it is that it is for anyone with an interest in cancer translational therapeutics, for those who are non-clinical and therefore lab based and also for those for whom there aren’t any equivalent support mechanisms, such as post doctorates all the way through to those seeking funding for starting their own laboratory. Essentially, it’s for those researchers who are not established in their career in terms of having their own laboratory and need support on the road to becoming an independent researcher. But essentially, if someone thinks they can benefit from being a part of the group, then we’ll be happy to have their involvement!