How We Are Governed

Richard trained as a paediatric oncologist in the UK where he earned his MBBS and PhD degrees, becoming a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1995. He moved to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA in 2000 where he served as the Co-Leader of the Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program and founding Director of the Molecular Clinical Trials Core before being appointed as the Comprehensive Cancer Center Director, Executive Vice President, and Lillian R Cannon Endowed Chair in 2011. In 2014 he was appointed as the Scientific Director of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In August 2015, he moved back home to England where he now serves as the Li Ka-shing Chair of Oncology, Head of Department of Oncology and Director of the CRUK Cambridge Centre at the University of Cambridge. His laboratory research is focused on understanding the link between normal development and the origins of cancer, particularly brain tumours.

Richard is the Chair of the TJBCM and is responsible for providing leadership and guidance on the strategic direction of the mission.

Katie became a Professor of Neuromuscular Genetics at the Institute of Genetic Medicine in 2001, establishing and leading the Neuromuscular Team, a top ranking group in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. She established the National Service for Rare Neuromuscular Diseases, supporting patients with rare inherited neuromuscular diseases across the UK and internationally. Katie co-led a 2007 bid for an EU funded Network of Excellence TREAT-NMD and was involved in rare disease policy development via leadership of a number of EU Joint Actions. She was the Vice Chair of the European Union Committee of Experts on Rare Diseases 2010-2013 and the founding co-ordinator of the neuromuscular European Reference Network EURO-NMD.

Katie retired early in May 2018 following the death of her husband, Professor Jimmy Steele CBE, from a glioblastoma. Katie had previous experience of brain cancer when her father passed away from complications of a pituitary adenoma in 1976. Katie is the Vice-Chair of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission and leads the Centre of Excellence
Designation Programme and the Tessa Jowell Academy.

James is one of the UK’s leading policy advisors. He has operated at the highest levels of government, including as a Minister at the Department for Health & Social Care, Director of the No.10 Policy Unit, and as an advisor to DHSC Ministers during the COVID-19 crisis. As Minister his responsibilities included implementing the Life Science Industrial Strategy, delivering a new pricing scheme with the pharmaceutical industry, chairing the National Genomics Board, and driving the digital transformation of the NHS.

In 2021 James became co-founder and Senior Partner of Newmarket Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to improving access to health innovation by providing strategic advice and technical support to the healthcare, life sciences and health tech sectors. He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College, where he chairs the Data, Health & Wealth programme, and a non-executive director of both Health Data Research UK and the Albion Development VCT plc. Outside of health, James chairs the Repairing our Social Fabric programme at the think tank Onward, and is a Member of the House of Lords.

As CEO, Nicky is responsible for the strategic direction of the mission, designing new programmes and overseeing the mission’s existing programme portfolio, seeking new funding and ensuring the overall successful management of the company.

Nicky joined the Mission at its inception in 2018 as Programme Manager when Oliver Wyman provided pro-bono support. During this three-month engagement Nicky was immediately taken by the aspirations and purpose of the Mission. Enjoying the work and feeling she was able to materially contribute, she amicably resigned her role at Oliver Wyman to join the Mission full-time as its first employee. Under her leadership the Mission has successfully launched several national programmes, expanded its team and transitioned into a Community Interest Company.

Prior to joining the Mission, Nicky worked as a management consultant, delivering projects in Oliver Wyman’s financial services and public policy practice. She holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Oxford.

As CEO, Nicky is responsible for the strategic direction of the mission, designing new programmes and overseeing the mission’s existing programme portfolio, seeking new funding and ensuring the overall successful management of the company.

Nicky joined the Mission at its inception in 2018 as Programme Manager when Oliver Wyman provided pro-bono support. During this three-month engagement Nicky was immediately taken by the aspirations and purpose of the Mission. Enjoying the work and feeling she was able to materially contribute, she amicably resigned her role at Oliver Wyman to join the Mission full-time as its first employee. Under her leadership the Mission has successfully launched several national programmes, expanded its team and transitioned into a Community Interest Company.

Prior to joining the Mission, Nicky worked as a management consultant, delivering projects in Oliver Wyman’s financial services and public policy practice. She holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Oxford.

As Director of Programmes and Operations, Camille is responsible for the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the company as well as the day-to-day overseeing of the various programmes in the mission’s portfolio. Camille joined the Mission in Sept 2020 as Senior Analyst to support the Centre of Excellence designation initiative. She is now one of TJBCM’s two company directors.

Camille started her career working in addictions research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences. For five years, she worked in NHS addiction treatment services, running clinical trials to test novel psychosocial interventions for cocaine use disorders. After leaving academia, she joined Impact Hub King’s Cross running business development programmes for social enterprises, helping entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses with a purpose.  

As Programme Manager for the Paediatric Centre of Excellence Designation Programme, Tash is responsible for the day-to-day management of the programme including running the national assessment process and providing ongoing support to hospitals to further develop their services.

Prior to joining the team, Tash worked in Market Access Consulting for three years, where she supported pharmaceutical companies with their strategy and reimbursement for new therapies, to help gain marketing authorisation. Tash worked across oncology and immunology indications, with a focus on prostate cancer therapies. Tash holds an MSc in Global Pharmacy and a BSc in Neuroscience. During Tash’s MSc research project, she interviewed key healthcare workers across hospitals in Lusaka, Zambia, to gain best practice insights and optimise uptake of a preventative antimalarial treatment used during pregnancy.

As Programme Manager for the Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA), Charlotte is responsible for the day-to-day management of the programme, working closely with a multidisciplinary international group of experts who review and provide guidance on the translation and development of novel treatments.

Prior to joining the mission, Charlotte worked as a Junior Doctor for two years in Auckland, New Zealand. During this time, she worked across various specialties including adult medicine, paediatric neurology and public health. She has been involved in the care of both adults and children with brain tumours. In addition to a medical degree, Charlotte also has a degree in Biomedical Science majoring in Nutrition and Metabolism in Human Health. Throughout her clinical work and studies, she has maintained a passion for public health and research and been awarded two research scholarships which resulted in the publication of two papers.

Olivia currently works with TJBCM from Australia, providing support for the development of the Tessa Jowell Academy Programme. Previously, Olivia worked as the Academy Manager for several years, where she managed the design and implementation of the national programme.

Olivia has a wealth of experience in production, communications and project management across various industries in Europe and Australia. She holds two Masters degrees in Public Health and International Public Health, and received a scholarship to spend several months conducting health promotion research in rural Indonesia with Diponegoro University, Java.

In addition to working with the Mission, Olivia is currently working with the University of New South Wales in Australia, where she manages a clinical research pilot program focused on improving palliative care for people with intellectual disability.  

Dr Emily Linnane is the Scientific Manager of the CRUK Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence based at the University of Cambridge, CRUK Cambridge Institute. She supports the Mission on a variety of projects alongside her job at CRUK, and was recently involved with the analysis of Centres of Excellence data including clinical trials and ongoing research programmes.

Emily obtained her MRes in Molecular Oncology and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the University of Liverpool. She later worked for an oncology biotechnology company as a pharmacologist before joining AstraZeneca as a Postdoctoral Fellow studying nucleic acid based therapeutics in KRAS mutant cancer models. Following her industrial postdoc, Emily joined the University of Cambridge as a Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate working on novel nanoparticles for drug delivery in hard-to-treat cancers; pancreatic cancer, mesothelioma and brain tumours.