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Research

About CHECT research

Funding world-class research into retinoblastoma is one of the key aims of the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust. We fund projects that will:

  • Improve our understanding of retinoblastoma, including the patterns of disease
  • Develop kinder effective treatments, with fewer side effects, that preserve more vision
  • Reduce the negative impact on all those affected

Applications must support at least one of the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership Priorities for Children’s Cancer.

CHECT will consider funding any applications that fall within its Research Strategy, and it is expected that the majority of research funded by CHECT will have the potential to demonstrate benefit to those affected by Rb in the UK within the short to medium term, normally considered to be five to ten years from the grant end date.

While CHECT continues to invite submissions for research proposals exploring the whole field of retinoblastoma research, CHECT’s members have identified particular areas of psychosocial research that are important to them and further detail of these areas is given in the grant invitation which you can download below.

The 2023/24 research funding call is now closed.

Download grant invitation

Download application form

More information on our research application process

While the annual grant round provides the main stream of CHECT funding for research, we may from time to time decide to award further grants or consider applications outside of this round. We will also consider proposals to co-fund projects in partnership with other funding bodies. In these circumstances appropriate peer review process will be applied. We are a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). All AMRC members support the AMRC position statement on the use of animals in research.

 

Childhood Eye Cancer Trust Research Strategy.

Scientific Advisory Committee

While the CHECT trustees are ultimately responsible for the research strategy and grant awarding of the charity, a CHECT Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) exists to assist the CHECT trustees in these responsibilities. The committee members are:

Dr Bob Phillips (Chair)

I am a Clinical Academic Paediatric Oncologist at the University of York and Leeds Children’s Hospital (basically a part-time proper doctor and part time researcher) who looks after a range of children and young people with cancers including retinoblastoma.

I’ve been involved with the exploration and development of clinical research for other charities, and after having a very positive experience developing research into Rb with CHECT, I was very pleased to take on the position of Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr Dimitra Athanasiou

I am a research associate at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. My main research interests focus on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. The understanding of how neurons maintain proteostasis – which is the balance of protein synthesis, folding, traffic and degradation – can provide insight into how we can intervene in the cell stress machinery when proteostasis imbalances are present, a common feature in neurodegeneration. I have been working on mutations causing inherited retinal degeneration and their effect on retinal cell viability for more than ten years. By targeting pathways involved in proteostasis, I have tested different therapeutic approaches for rhodopsin retinitis pigmentosa, which has deepened our understanding on photoreceptor biology in health and disease. I aim to bring my expertise on retinal cell biology research to CHECT’s SAC and help support good quality research on retinoblastoma.

Dr Robert Henderson

I work as a paediatric ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon having trained at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto; the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital in Melbourne; and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. I am now a consultant based at Moorfields and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and am also an honorary Senior Lecturer at the UCL Institute of Child Health.  My research background has been in the genetics of inherited retinal disease and I am actively involved now with research into the causes of childhood onset retinal dystrophies and retinovascular diseases, with an interest in novel therapies. I am involved with clinical, basic science, and translational research programmes looking at causes of, and treatments for, inherited retinal disease.

Dr Audrey Bonaventure

I am a physician specialist in public health and also trained as an epidemiologist. Since 2008, I have developed a particular expertise in several aspects of childhood cancer epidemiology, from exploring survival inequalities to searching for risk (or protective) factors for childhood cancer, including retinoblastoma. 

I currently work as a Researcher at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), within the team dedicated to childhood and adolescent cancers at the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics. I am also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York. I have been teaching epidemiology and supervising international students for many years, both in France and in the UK.

I am deeply honoured to have been asked to join the CHECT SAC, to which I will contribute my experience in public health and epidemiology.

Dr Sunayna Best

I am a Clinical Genetics registrar based in Leeds. I completed an intercalated BSc in Human Genetics within my medical degree at University College London. I followed an academic training pathway after graduating, with an Academic Foundation Programme post in Clinical Genetics and an Academic Clinical Fellowship in Paediatrics, both at Imperial College London. I completed an MSc in Genomic Medicine, also at Imperial, in 2016. I have recently begun a Wellcome PhD Fellowship at the University of Leeds. My project is in trying to improve strategies to interpret genetic variants for patients with ciliopathies and inherited retinal diseases. I have particular clinical interests in eye genetics, paediatrics and prenatal genetics. I am excited by potential of genomics to inform basic science and improve molecular diagnosis rates for patients, and hope it provides means to offer increasingly targeted therapies in the future. I am honoured to be asked to join the CHECT SAC and hope to contribute to the group with my experience in research, paediatrics and eye genetics.

Andrea Bonzano (Deputy Chair)

I am an electronic engineer who works in the financial industry. Originally from Italy, I live in London with my wife and 2 boys who keep asking me when the next CHECT weekend will be!

Although I had known CHECT for several years thanks to their incisive online campaigns, I remained a spectator until January 2015, when I joined the Board of Trustees where I try helping by applying my software and scientific skills.

Since November 2018 I have also become part of the Scientific Advisory Committee as a lay representative. There, I act as the bridge between the SAC and the Board of Trustees. I find both these roles within CHECT extremely interesting and rewarding as the people I meet are always very generous and helpful.

James Morley-Smith

I have spent over 20 years originally as a software engineer and now leading an international design team in a global tech company, creating hardware and software solutions which help frontline workers from retail staff and delivery drivers to doctors and nurses be more efficient and accurate at their jobs.  My work requires me to fully understand the needs of users which regularly requires research to observe and understand every aspect of these users’ jobs.

I am the father of four boys the second youngest of which was diagnosed with Rb when he was four months old.  He is now 12 years old and after receiving almost all the treatment available, by the age of six he unfortunately had lost both his eyes through enucleation.  He is now thriving, however his journey gives me an understanding of the impact of Rb that combined with my work hopefully brings a unique layperson’s perspective to the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Pippa Branch

My daughter was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in March 2018. Before this point, like so many parents I had never heard of Rb. Despite her diagnosis being unilateral Rb, genetic testing has since shown she carries the Rb gene. I hope that with my recent experience as a parent of a child receiving treatment for Rb, that I am able to offer an alternative, non-medical or scientific perspective to the SAC. My interest in research stems from her treatments and the genetic nature of her diagnosis. I was a primary school teacher for 19 years before having my daughter and therefore I hope that this experience will also help to offer an educational insight into discussions about research.

Mr Joe Abbott

I am a paediatric ophthalmologist at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where I treat many children with retinoblastoma.

My training included fellowship work in Birmingham, Moorfields and Great Ormond Street Hospitals. I lead our hospital’s paediatric glaucoma service and am joint secretary for the UK Paediatric Glaucoma Society.

My active research areas now are in hand-held imaging techniques for children, in particular optical coherence tomography, cell-free DNA sampling in retinoblastoma, paediatric ocular trauma and the impact of social deprivations upon health. I am a section editor for the journal Eye.

I am a father of two girls. I am humbled every week, by the resilience which children and their families show when faced with the diagnosis of retinoblastoma. I will do my best in this role to help the SAC further improve children’s experiences of retinoblastoma.

Dr Cath McParlin

I was born in 1967 with bilateral retinoblastoma into a family who had never heard of the condition before (and long before CHECT ever existed). Luckily the following year I was diagnosed, I had my left eye removed and radiotherapy treatment to my right eye.

After initially completing a degree in Biochemistry and Physiology, I went on to train as a midwife in the early 90’s. I have since worked clinically as a midwife and spent most of the last two decades involved in reproductive health and childbirth research and education, being awarded my PhD in 2015. I’m now involved in the evaluation of maternity care services and also supporting other health and social care researchers plan their studies.

I feel passionately about the conduct of good quality research and how that translates into evidence-based health and social care practice. Therefore, alongside my experiences as an Rb survivor I hope I can make a valuable contribution to the SAC as a lay member.

Christine Dahl

I trained and was the retinoblastoma lead in Denmark, as well as the chair of the Nordic Retinoblastoma group. I am now a paediatric oncologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital with special interests in neuro-oncology and late effects from cancer and cancer treatment. Improving outcomes and possibly reducing long-term side effects of the treatments we use is very important to me, and research in retinoblastoma is a vital part of this.

I am honoured to be asked to join the CHECT SAC and hope to contribute to the group with my experience in paediatric oncology and treatment as well as research within these areas, especially in relation to long term side effects.

Dr Laura Wintour

I am currently working as a clinical psychologist in the Retinoblastoma Service at the Royal London Hospital two days a week. I completed the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClin Psy) in September 2022 which included completing a doctoral thesis project. I have a particular interest in working in health settings, specifically paediatric oncology services.

Through my work, I support young people with retinoblastoma and their families during treatment and beyond. I also chair a psycho-social meeting within the team to think holistically about the children and young people in our care. I am keen to support research investigating evidence-based psychological support for people with cancer more broadly, including young people and families impacted by retinoblastoma. I am honoured to be asked to join the CHECT SAC and be able to contribute to the group with my experience of the psycho-social aspects of retinoblastoma care.