About the Programme
The Tessa Jowell Academy is a free, national, learning and community platform, connecting professionals that work to improve treatment, care and research for people with a brain tumour.
The Centre Of Excellence programme yielded important data on best practice, challenges and variation across the UK. To ensure progress on these findings it is crucial to have a well-connected community and a platform where professionals can come together to address challenges and implement solutions. The Tessa Jowell Academy exists to convene professionals who look after patients with a brain tumour. It aims to upskill its members, promote the adoption of best practice and offer a platform to work together on important challenges.
The Academy’s features and content are directed by the neuro-oncology community and its overarching objectives are to:
- Reduce health inequalities by increasing exposure to and adoption of best practice.
- Offer up-to-date information on open trials, encouraging trial recruitment.
- Inspire innovation and promote research skills.
- Upskill the workforce.
Our recent in-person Supportive Care Communication Skills course, designed by our expert Palliative Care Consultants after reviewing the Centre of Excellence data
How the Programme Works
Hosted online, the Academy has an array of features, resources and networks to upskill professionals working with patients with a brain tumour. Through collaborative working, members are continuously developing new national resources in areas of unmet need. Each feature, resource or activity is driven by Centre of Excellence data, input from the professional community and patient need. This ensures that every new addition aligns perfectly with the community’s evolving demands.
- National networks to connect a previously isolated neuro-oncology community, to enable special interest groups to identify priorities for joint service improvement projects. Through connecting with colleagues in different centres and community settings, sharing experiences, showcasing best practices, and discussing obstacles, members harnessed peer insights to create actionable solutions and improve patient care.
- Working groups led by members aim to reduce variation in practice, with deliverables ranging from new guidelines to toolkits and position papers. The Academy supports working groups to create and publish national resources, often in collaboration with professional bodies such as the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the British Psychological Society.
- Delivered community-requested education courses and promoted knowledge sharing with a new series
- The Academy advances the interests of the neuro-oncology community through collaboration with key stakeholders in cancer care. The Academy works with professional and government bodies to amplify the voice of the neuro-oncology community in general cancer care projects (e.g. ACCEND Framework) and distil and disseminate neuro-oncology specific best practice through expert-led publications and guidelines.
Click here to read about the study published by the Academy SRS Working Group, which reveals differences in how stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a type of precision radiotherapy, is delivered to patients with a brain tumour.
Academy Structure
Free-expert led courses
Explore our free courses, covering topics requested by the community, delivered by experts in the field.
Connect with members
Search the members directory or use the Peer-to-Peer Connect to get tailored support and share expertise with colleagues across the UK.
Resource sharing
Access resources developed through our working groups and courses, alongside member-recommended external sources.
Specialist networks
Join colleagues across the UK to share experiences, discuss challenges and identify priorities for collaborative action.
Working groups
Help develop practical resources that tackle unmet needs identified by our specialist networks.
Our Impact
Academy members
Members involved in Networks & Working Groups
Members using our learning sessions
NHS centres with Academy members
Members matched through our Peer to Peer Connect
Members sharing excellence
by speaking in a webinar and course session
Committee
Our Academy Founding Committee is made up of a small multi-disciplinary group of dedicated neuro-oncology professionals from across the NHS. Working closely with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, their role is to help shape the Academy’s vision, championing the needs of their specialties, and guiding the development of meaningful support for the wider community. Their collective expertise and passion are helping to lay the foundations for a truly collaborative, responsive Academy.
Mr Pietro D'Urso
Consultant Neurosurgeon
Karthica Indramohan
Neuro-Oncology Specialist Radiographer
Rachel MacArthur
Macmillan Lead Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist
Prof Catherine McBain
Clinical Consultant Oncologist
Elisa (Ellie) Stephenson
Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in Neuro-Oncology
Prof Adam Waldman
Chair of Neuroradiology
Dr Bryony Allen
Academy Senior Programme Manager
Lauren Lankhuijzen
Senior Analyst for the Academy & AHP Fellowships
Mr Pietro D'Urso
Consultant Neurosurgeon
Mr Pietro D’Urso is a Consultant Neurosurgeon at Salford Royal Hospital with a subspecialty interest in surgical neuro-oncology. He sits on the founding committee to provide expertise in neurosurgical practice. Pietro has been a strong advocate for the Academy’s trainee network, CPD-accredited training strategy and the development of shared national resources. He also played a role in shaping the Academy’s clinical trials finder and the Emerging Research Series, supporting wider engagement with research and education across the community.
Karthica Indramohan
Neuro-Oncology Specialist Radiographer
Karthica Indramohan is a Specialist Neuro-Oncology Therapy Radiographer at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, working with both TYA and adult brain tumour patients. She sits on the founding committee to provide expertise in therapeutic radiography and AHP engagement. With over a decade of clinical experience, and MSc in Radiotherapy and Oncology and is currently undertaking a second MSc in order to qualify as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Karthica has played a role in developing the Academy’s Therapeutic Radiographer Network and is committed to strengthening AHP participation across the community.
Rachel MacArthur
Macmillan Lead Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist
Rachel MacArthur is the Macmillan Lead Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. She sits on the founding committee to provide expertise on nurse-led practice and guides the Academy’s nursing strategy. Rachel played a key role in shaping the Academy’s early training provision, including the Fundamentals in Neuro-Oncology and Supportive Care courses.
Prof Catherine McBain
Clinical Consultant Oncologist
Professor Catherine McBain is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Professor of Neuro-Oncology at the University of Manchester. She sits on the founding committee to provide expertise in neuro-oncology and stereotactic radiosurgery, drawing on her leadership in developing services for primary brain and CNS tumours and her extensive involvement in national and international clinical trials. Catherine helped establish the Academy’s clinical trial finder, supported the creation of the Academy’s SRS Working Group and continues to guide the development of training across the Academy.
Elisa (Ellie) Stephenson
Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in Neuro-Oncology
Ellie Stephenson is the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in Neuro-Oncology at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. She sits on the founding committee to provide expertise on AHP training and professional networks, having led the Academy Physiotherapist Network and subsequently established the physiotherapist working group on awake craniotomies involving sensory–motor input. Ellie later became the Academy’s first Resident Clinician, working with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission one day a week to produce an awake craniotomy toolkit based on the working group’s findings.
Prof Adam Waldman
Chair of Neuroradiology
Professor Adam Waldam is Professor and Chair of Neuroradiology at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, and a Consultant Neuroradiologist at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, NHS Lothian. He sits on the founding committee to provide expertise in neuroimaging, supporting the Academy from its early development by engaging radiographers and neurologists and shaping the MaRS working groups. Adam is also the co-clinical lead for the Academy’s Neuroimaging Working Group.
Dr Bryony Allen
Academy Senior Programme Manager
As Senior Programme Manager for the Tessa Jowell Academy, Bryony oversees the strategic development of both the Adult and Paediatric Academies and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the national learning and networking platform. She has led the Academy for several years, guiding its growth, shaping programme strategy and supporting the expanding community of clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals across the UK.
Bryony first contributed to the Mission between her PhD and Postdoctoral position, supporting the analysis of the Centre of Excellence designation dataset. After leaving academia in early 2023, she joined the Mission full time to run the Tessa Jowell Academy
Lauren Lankhuijzen
Senior Analyst for the Academy & AHP Fellowships
As a Senior Analyst in the Tessa Jowell Academy team, Lauren supports the development and delivery of projects across the Academy, with a particular focus on coordinating networks, and data analysis for our working groups. She also plays a key role in supporting the first cohort of the TJ AHP Research Fellows, helping to shape their projects and ensure alignment with wider neuro-oncology research activity.
Lauren joined the Academy in 2025, following an internship with the Mission, working on both the Academy and the Centre of Excellence programmes. Previously Lauren completed a MSc in Clinical Neuroscience at King’s College London, building on a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience from the University of Exeter. She has a strong interest in clinical neurology and translational research to improve patient care, which informs her work across the Academy’s initiatives.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or would like to explore what the Academy team can do for you, please get in contact: academy@tessajowellbcm.org.
