Meet our researchers and medical experts

The research we fund is ambitious and challenging but our vision is simple: A future where gynae cancers are diseases of the past.

We fund world-leading research focused on developing effective methods of risk prediction, earlier detection and screening for gynaecological cancers. The charity has grown and developed over the past fifteen years in parallel with its core research team, the Department of Women’s Cancer at University College London (UCL), and has expanded to fund researchers in institutions in the UK and across the globe including Imperial, Bart's Cancer Centre, Cambridge University, Karolinska Institute, Harvard Medical School and the University of South California.

The-Eve-Appeal-Professor-Martin-Widschwendter

Professor Martin Widschwendter - Head of the Department of Women's Cancer, University College London

Martin Widschwendter is Professor in Women’s Cancer and Director of the Translational Research Centre at University College London (UCL) and a Consultant Gynaecological Oncology Surgeon at University College London Hospital (UCLH). He is an internationally renowned leading clinician and researcher with a core focus on early diagnosis and prevention of ovarian, breast, endometrial and cervical cancer.

Martin leads on the following programmes co-funded by The Eve Appeal:

EC FP7 EpiFemCare (EPIgenetics for FEMale personalised cancer CARE),
H2020 FORECEE (Female cancer predictiOn using ceRvical cEll omiCs to individualise prEvEntion)
H2020 BRCA-ERC (Understanding cancer development in BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers for improved Early detection and Risk Control).

“I often witness how much pain and sorrow a diagnosis brings women and their families. My vision is to improve prevention and early diagnosis so that fewer women develop ovarian, breast, endometrial or cervical cancers and are faced with treatment and its side effects. The Eve Appeal shares this vision and has a unique and successful track record of support for research in this field”.

Adam Rosenthal - Consultant Gynaecologist

Adam Rosenthal is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Lead Colposcopist at University College Hospital (UCH). He is also Clinical Lead on the UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study at University College London. He has published extensively in journals including the Lancet, and has held a number of research grants.

Adam is heavily involved in numerous research programmes funded by The Eve Appeal including:

“I have worked with the Eve Appeal for a number of years because they fund cutting-edge research which is already making a real difference to the lives of women at risk from gynaecological cancer.”

Ranjit Manchanda - Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist

Ranjit Manchanda is a Professor at Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts CRUK Cancer Centre, Queen Mary University of London, and Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at Barts and the Royal London Hospital, London, UK. He is co-Lead for the Cancer Prevention Theme at the Barts CRUK Cancer Centre.

Ranjit’s research interests are focused around ‘Targeted Precision Prevention’. This includes population-based genetic testing, mainstreaming and precision medicine approaches for risk prediction, population stratification, and targeted screening and cancer prevention. He has a keen research interest in health economic issues. He was awarded a NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellowship for Population Genetic Testing. He is the Integrated Academic Training Programme Director, London Specialty School of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Health Education England.

He is the Principal Investigator of a number of Eve Appeal funded projects including the PROMISE Feasibility study (pilot population testing and ovarian cancer risk prediction study in the general population), GCaPPS trial (population based BRCA testing trial in the Jewish population), Cost-effectiveness analyses of Population genetic testing as well as Unselected genetic testing at breast cancer diagnosis. He leads the PROTECTOR trial (national early salpingectomy & delayed oophorectomy study), RRESDO (study evaluating attitudes towards early salpingectomy) and SIGNPOST (genetic testing in ovarian cancer) studies. He is also a member of the UKFOCSS team and a research collaborator on FORECEE and ALDO.

His clinical interests include management of familial gynaecological cancer and ultra-radical debulking surgery for ovarian cancer. He has served as President of the European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists (ENYGO) and member of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) Council from 2011-2013

Dr William Foulkes

Professor, Departments of Medicine, Oncology and Human Genetics, McGill University

Will Foulkes is Director of the Program in Cancer Genetics, based at McGill University in the Departments of Oncology and Human Genetics. He is also head of the Cancer Genetics Laboratory at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. He is a James McGill Professor of Medicine, Human Genetics and Oncology at McGill University, and holds a FRSQ Chercheur national award. His work has focused on inherited susceptibility to cancer, mainly of the breast and colorectum. He is a clinician, who has been in charge of clinical cancer genetics at all McGill-affiliated hospitals since 1996.

William leads on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: the Small Cell Ovarian Cancer Patient Registry

Dr Jacqueline McDermott

Gynaecological Cellular Pathologist – Imperial College London

Dr Jackie McDermott is a cellular pathologist at Imperial College London, working in gynaecological cancers. You can read more about her on this blog.

Jackie leads on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: Finding biomarkers for vulval pre-cancer and cancer

Professor Sudha Sundar

Professor of Gynaecological Cancer – University of Birmingham

Past President (2019-2022) British Gynaecological Cancer Society

Sudha Sundar is a gynaecological cancer surgeon and a clinical academic. Her research programme focusses on improving cancer diagnostics, cancer surgery and addressing inequalities in cancer outcomes. Sudha’s research has led to change of NICE guidance to recommend maximum cytoreduction surgery for ovarian cancer. She has recently completed her term as the President of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (2019-2022), the first women gynaecological oncologist to be elected to this post.

She is now National Ovarian Cancer audit surgical lead (2023 – to date) and is spearheading the innovative use of routinely collected data to drive outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.

Sudha leads on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: Finding biomarkers for mucinous ovarian cancer

Dr Trish Holsch

Reader, Applied Health Psychology, Leeds Beckett University

Trish undertakes both qualitative and quantitative applied health research including validation of measures, cognitive interviewing and delphi consensus methodologies, with a focus on understanding health behaviours, factors influencing self-management of symptoms, electronic symptom monitoring, PROMs and electronic health literacy.

Trish leads on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: Increasing awareness of gynaecological cancers in Universities

A photo of Maria in her lab coat sat in her lab

Professor Maria Kyrgiou

Clinical Professor of Gynaecological Oncology, Imperial College London

Professor Maria Kyrgiou is a Professor at Imperial College London and a Consultant Surgeon in Gynaecology and Gynaecological Oncology at the West London Gynaecological Cancer Centre, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust. She is the Head of Section of Gynaecological Oncology at Imperial College London. Her main clinical interest is minimal access and complex gynaecological cancer surgery.

Maria leads on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: Laser-REIMS to diagnose and treat vulval pre-cancer and cancer

Professor Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami

Professor of Gynaecological Oncology, Imperial College London

Professor Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami’s focus is on translational research in gynaecological cancers. In particular biomarker discovery and development (specifically immunological markers) in ovarian and endometrial cancers. The biomarkers are now in the process of being tested for diagnosis and surgical prognosis.

Sadaf led on the following programme, funded by The Eve Appeal: Using iKnife technology for an immediate diagnosis of womb cancer

Dr Kelechi Njoku

Dr Kelechi Njoku is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Lecturer at the University of Manchester and a Senior Specialist Registrar in Clinical Oncology at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust. He recently completed a PhD in Cancer Sciences on a Cancer Research UK-funded Clinical Research Fellowship, with numerous publications, presentations and awards. Dr Njoku has expertise in biomarker discovery using high-throughput technologies alongside advanced computational analyses. He currently undertakes translational cancer research with a focus on screening, prevention and early detection of gynaecological cancers.