Latest news from BNOS and across the neuro-oncology network

Applications now open!

The Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA) is an accelerator programme that provides independent and holistic guidance to help researchers position their therapeutic or technology along a realistic pathway to clinical trials.   

Why the BTR-NTA was launched

Despite there being several encouraging pre-clinical studies, few brain tumour therapeutics make it to successful human trials due to barriers throughout the drug development pathway.

The BTR-NTA programme aims to help researchers address these barriers by:

• Highlighting potential pitfalls or risks in their project
• Giving multi-disciplinary feedback on work to date
• Providing constructive guidance on future work and next steps
• Recommending potential avenues for partnerships or funding
• Strengthening international collaboration in the brain tumour field

The ultimate goal of BTR-NTA is to provide guidance to enable researchers working on promising therapeutics.

Applications close on 21st July 2023

Registration is now open for BNOS 2023, being held in Manchester from 5-7 July.

The theme of the 2023 meeting is Big Data, Bioinformatics and Genomics in Neuro-oncology with focus on the advances and role of state-of-art high-throughput methodologies such as health informatics, genomics, epigenetics, proteomics, fostering and developing the integration between forefront basic and translational science, bioinformatics, and clinicians.

The programme also offers the opportunity to attend social events and to network in a dynamic city with a rich and diverse heritage.

An exciting and attractive opportunity for an experienced Research Associate in Brain Cancer Research is available at the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute at Cardiff University School of Biosciences.

Join us to work on a multi-disciplinary, MRC-funded project leveraging multi-OMICS approaches, advanced non-linear optical imaging methods, and state-of-the-art in vivo and 3D in vitro models to investigate the functions of FGF receptors in protein synthesis and proteostasis for stemness and cell plasticity in glioblastoma. The project is a joint collaboration between Dr Florian Siebzehnrubl, Prof Paola Borri (both Cardiff), and Dr Julien Licchesi (Bath).

We are looking for an enthusiastic scientist with two to three years postdoctoral research experience, who is interested in working in a multi-disciplinary team using a range of cutting-edge technologies. You will have demonstrated ability to work independently, strong organisational skills, and experience in cell and molecular biology (wet lab) work as well as analysing large datasets. Prior experience with in vivo glioblastoma models is a plus.

What we offer

• Join a multi-disciplinary team of cancer and stem cell biologists, biochemists, and physicists
• 4-year full-time post
• Opportunity and support to develop your own fellowship applications

What we are looking for

• Postgraduate degree (PhD or equivalent) or similar experience
• Experience in analysis of large datasets
• Experience in cell and molecular biology
• Experience in cancer research OR neuroscience

Closing date May 1^st. Please direct any enquiries to Dr Florian Siebzehnrubl fas@cardiff.ac.uk

The Children with Cancer UK-funded Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium (CBTDDC), upon consultation with diverse stakeholders within the neuro-oncology research and clinical communities, has produced a ‘Roadmap’ document for pre-clinical to clinical translation. with a focus on drug delivery techniques.

This was in recognition of the information gap for researchers, when trying to translate efficacious pre-clinical technologies to clinical trial readiness, and the need to consolidate this information into one concise document.

This Roadmap was prepared by CBTDDC’s programme manager, Dr Emma Campbell, and Chair Dr Ruman Rahman.

We are delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for bursaries to join us for our annual conference in Manchester and Young Investigator of the Year award nominations.

Find out more:

Conference bursaries

Young Investigator of the Year Award

Position Details 

• College of Medical and Dental Sciences
• Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
• Full time starting salary is normally in the range £35,254 to £61,042
• Clinical Post
• Full Time, Fixed Term Contract for up to 4 years or completion of CCT, whichever is soonest
• Closing date: 23 February 2023

The University of Birmingham is inviting applications for the post of NIHR Clinical Lecturer. Candidates from either Neurosurgery or General Surgery or Paediatrics will compete for one post in their chosen speciality, which can be in any of the above three areas. Applicants must have submitted their PhD thesis in order to be eligible to apply, and must be awarded their higher research degree (PhD, MD or equivalent) to be able to take up the post.  Applicants should ideally have been appointed to a speciality training programme and will need to hold a National Training Number (NTN).

The academic appointment will be for 4 years or CCT date, whichever is the sooner. At the end of this period, the post-holder will either be awarded a CCT or revert to clinical training until CCT.

The main aim of this post is to nurture the academic development of a post-doctoral trainee, enabling the individual to develop into an independent principal investigator capable of securing a Clinician Scientist Fellowship in the future.  Alongside this academic development, the individual will also obtain high quality clinical training in their specialty.  The content of the post will be equally divided between clinical and academic training, arranged to meet the training requirements of the successful applicant.

The clinical component will be undertaken in hospitals in the West Midlands Deanery. The post must be taken up by 30 June 2023.

We are delighted to announce that we are now accepting abstract submissions for BNOS Manchester 2023. We welcome free papers in both oral and poster format.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2023

Abstract topics:

• Adult glioma
• Cerebral metastasis
• Meningioma and other tumours
• Imaging
• Paediatric oncology and tumours in young adults
• Survivorship and quality of life
• Translational and pre-clinical science
• Clinical trials
• Bioinformatics and multiomics

Selected abstracts will be submitted for publication to the Oxford University Press’ Neuro-Oncology Online Supplement.

Join the conversation #BNOS2023

The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission is pleased to announce the opening of the application round for the first fully-funded Tessa Jowell Neuro-oncology Fellowship. The one-year Fellowship is aimed at exceptional applicants near to gaining their certificate of completion of training in medical or clinical oncology, who wish to further specialise in brain tumour treatment and research.

Fellowship details

The one-year Fellowship will begin in September 2023 and applicants are expected to apply with a host institution in mind. The host institution must be a Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence. The Fellowship award is £86,000 which consists of full salary costs for 1-year as well as administrative costs to support the host institution.

To apply:

Applicants will need to submit an application form and a letter of support from the head of the department at their preferred host institution by 1^st of March 2023 to sarah.jefferies@nhs.net and nicky.huskens@tessajowellbcm.org

• Fellowship Application Form (fillable PDF)
• Fellowship Application Form (word version)
• Fellowship Neuro-oncology Guidelines outlines the Fellowship scheme for applicants and potential host institutions
• Fellowship Person Specification outlines the profile of the ideal candidate for the Fellowship

The interview round for shortlisted applicants will take place in April 2023.

The Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium seeks to strengthen collaborative developments by working closely with the international children’s brain tumour community, encouraging and facilitating discussions between a multi-disciplinary network of clinicians and researchers within pharma and academia as well as a range of funders and stakeholders.

Read the latest news from the Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium

CBTDCC – January 2023 Newsletter
CBTDDC – October 2022 Newsletter
CBTDDC – July 2022 Newsletter
CBTDDC – January 2022 Newsletter
CBTDDC – October 2021 Newsletter
CBTDDC – July 2021 Newsletter 

We are delighted to invite interested oncology departments to tender to host the annual BNOS conferences in 2024, 2025 and 2026. We encourage applications from a team based around a neuro-oncology MDT and comprised of relevant stakeholders including clinicians and allied health professionals.

We anticipate that each conference will take place at the end of June or early July in the respective year and will run for three days from Wednesday to Friday.

The successful teams will be supported by a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) or similar, the BNOS Meetings Secretary and the BNOS Administration team.

MORE INFORMATION

Applications should be made in writing by 5 February 2023 and emailed to administrator@bnos.org.uk 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

The BNOS Team