We’re delighted to invite you to our next Prevent Breast Cancer Research Conference
The event will take place on March 3rd and 4th 2026 at the Treehouse Hotel, Manchester. Join leading researchers, clinicians and advocates as we explore the latest developments in breast cancer prevention, early detection and risk reduction.
Accredited by Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
This conference is eligible for CPD points. We will provide a certificate that confirms the conference is CPD accredited and the total number of hours for the conference. To find out more, please read the FAQs at the bottom of this page.
Event Details
Provisional Programme
Take a look at our provisional programme to explore the day to day running order, our speakers and their talk topics, as well as more information about the Dragons’ Den live grant-making round and the Poster Session. Book your ticket today to ensure your place.
Keynote Speakers
Professor Cathrin Brisken
Professor Cathrin Brisken conducts her research at the EPFL in Switzerland and at the Breast Cancer Now Division at ICR, London. Her work focuses on the cellular and molecular underpinnings of oestrogen, progesterone, and androgen receptor signalling in the breast epithelium and their respective roles in breast cancer development. The aim is to understand how endogenous and exogenous hormones affect breast carcinogenesis to better prevent and treat the disease.
Dr Simon Knott
Dr Simon Knott is a Research Scientist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He combines computational biology and functional genomics to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer progression. His laboratory is focused on three main areas: heterogeneity in cancer cell populations and how it impacts disease outcome, hetero-cellular interactions that allow cancer cells to manipulate the tumor microenvironment to evade therapy, and the development of novel computational and molecular tools to study disease progression.
Professor Walid Khaled
Professor Walid Khaled is a Professor of Tumour Initiation at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the early stages of epithelial tumour development, with the goal of improving cancer detection and prevention. He co-leads the Human Breast Cell Atlas and works on cancer resistance in naked mole-rats, combining single-cell technologies and genetics to understand tumour biology.
Dr Anna Ilenko
Dr Anna Ilenko is a specialist plastic surgeon at Gustave Roussy (France) and co-founder of Gynélia Santé Femmes, with expertise in aesthetic, oncological, oncoplastic, and reconstructive breast surgery. A global leader in robotic breast surgery, she is committed to advancing the field through research, education, and international collaboration, while remaining deeply engaged in patient support and advocacy.
Professor Ranjit Manchanda
Professor Ranjit Manchanda is a Professor of Gynaecological Oncology and Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist, as well as Co-Lead of the Cancer Prevention Unit at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London. His research centres on targeted precision prevention, with expertise in population-based and mainstream genetic testing, precision medicine approaches for risk prediction and population stratification, and the development of targeted screening and prevention strategies, including surgical interventions, for familial gynaecological cancers.
Mr Rajiv Dave
Rajiv Dave is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast and Endocrine Surgeon with a strong academic and leadership portfolio. He has led national and international collaborative studies that have influenced clinical practice and attracted major research grants. With a Master’s in Global Health Leadership, he founded the Kenya–UK Breast Cancer Alliance and works to address health inequalities, developing community-based strategies to improve breast awareness in minority groups and advancing breast cancer care through partnerships in the UK, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia.
Dr Matt Harris
Matthew Harris is a Clinical Reader in Public Health Innovation, an Honorary NHS Consultant in Public Health, and Director of Taught Programmes in the School of Public Health, at Imperial College London. He is the author of Decolonizing Healthcare Innovation: low-cost solutions from low-income countries (Routledge, 2023); co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Healthcare Innovation (OUP, 2025) and 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He was formerly a GP in Brazil and worked in a variety of public health roles in Ethiopia and Mozambique. With the National Association of Primary Care, he is the co-lead of the Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Initiative, a programme inspired by the Brazilian healthcare system that has scaled throughout the UK.
Dr Connie Junghans Minton
Connie Junghans Minton is a doctor and Public Health researcher focused on co-producing system-level solutions to health inequity. She bridges applied health research, systems thinking, and participatory methods to strengthen community resilience, particularly in underserved populations. Connie combines her academic work as a Senior Clinical Fellow at Imperial College London with clinical roles as a GP and public health epidemiologist, and and she is a co-lead for the roll out of the Community Health and Wellbeing Workers programme with the National Association of Primary Care, an outreach model inspired by Brazil’s Family Health Strategy. She is passionate about community-led preventative primary care and translational research that directly informs policy and practice.
Dr Helen Croker
Dr Helen Croker is Assistant Director of Research and Policy at World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) International. Here she is overseeing the scientific work of the organisation, including the Global Cancer Update Programme and international grant programmes, and working with the Policy and Public Affairs team to deliver an integrated science and policy programme. She also engages in external communications work, including press and media work. Helen is a registered dietitian and has a PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health from University College London. Her academic work has focused on obesity and nutrition through a behavioural science lens, as well as carrying out policy-related research.
Louise Wilkinson
Louise Wilkinson is a Consultant Radiologist at Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with an interest in symptomatic and screening breast radiology. Her interests include effective evaluation and delivery of breast screening, teaching and ensuring that innovation is adopted safely.
Speakers
Professor Gareth Evans
Professor Gareth Evans was a Consultant at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and Chair of medical genetics and cancer epidemiology at the University of Manchester. He has established a national and international reputation in clinical and research aspects of cancer genetics.
Dr Miriam Smith
Dr Miriam Smith is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics at the University of Manchester. Her current research is centred on investigating the genetic mechanisms of tumour predisposition syndromes, particularly those causing schwannoma and meningioma tumours.
Peeter Padrik
Peeter Padrik is an oncologist, scientist, and healthcare entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in clinical practice, research, leadership, and healthcare management. Dr Padrik is currently the CEO and oncologist at Antegenes, a health technology company and healthcare service provider pioneering personalised cancer prevention. Dr Padrik’s vision is to reduce cancer-related mortality by integrating genetics-based personalised prevention into the fight against common cancers.
Dr Sacha Howell
Dr Sacha Howell is a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the Univeristy of Manchester. He also runs the Family History Clinic at The Nightingale Centre and conducts translational breast cancer prevention research.
Dr Nisha Sharma
Dr Nisha Sharma is Director of the Leeds and Wakefield Breast Screening Programme and a consultant breast radiologist. A recognised national and international speaker, she has led UK breast screening guidelines, contributes to trials on risk-adapted screening and AI, and serves on numerous national committees.
Professor David French
Professor David French is NIHR Senior Investigator and Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Manchester. He has led several projects relating to breast cancer early detection, including examining psychological impact of receiving risk estimates or false positive test results.
Dr Sarah Hindmarch
Dr Sarah Hindmarch is a Research Associate within the Manchester Centre for Health Psychology at the University of Manchester. Her current research focuses on the feasibility, acceptability, and delivery of breast cancer risk prediction to women aged 30-39 years without a strong family history of breast cancer.
Dr Bruno Simões
Dr Bruno Simões is a Research Fellow in the Division of Cancer Sciences at the University of Manchester. He investigates molecular mechanisms that lead to aberrations in the tumour-initiating cells to develop better breast cancer chemoprevention approaches for high-risk women.
Lorraine Turner
Lorraine Turner is a Consultant Advanced Nurse Practitioner at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and a PhD student at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on understanding how religion and cultural norms influence the experiences of Muslim women with breast cancer and their participation in clinical trials. Lorraine uses mixed-methods research and community-centered participatory approaches to co-design culturally and faith-appropriate interventions that empower women from diverse communities to engage with cancer research.
Jenny Jones
Jenny Jones is a Learning Disability Nurse, working in this field for over 30 years. In her current role as the GM Senior Clinical Lead for Learning Disabilities and Health Inequalities she works across Greater Manchester to challenge and reduce the health inequalities that people with Learning Disabilities face, with an overall ambition to improve health and wellbeing, and to reduce avoidable mortality. In 2019, Jenny was awarded the UK Chief Nursing Officers Silver Award for her contribution to learning disability nursing.
Dr Niki Flaum
Dr Niki Flaum is an Academic Clinical Lecturer with research interests including early detection of breast cancer, breast cancer in young women and risk prediction of breast cancer. She also works as a medical oncology specialty registrar at the Christie Hospital, Manchester.
Dr Mary Wilson
Dr Mary Wilson is a Consultant Radiologist, former Director of the Greater Manchester Breast Screening Service, Project Lead for the National Breast Imaging Academy and Prevent Breast Cancer Trustee. She has worked as a senior consultant and leader within the NHS for many years, previously directing the largest breast service in the country based at The Nightingale Centre, leading on educational initiatives nationally, and advising on National Breast Screening standards and targets.
Madeleine Webb
Madeleine Webb is Breast Cancer Now’s policy lead for early diagnosis and prevention. Priorities in her area of work include reducing waiting times to receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, maximising the impact of screening in finding breast cancers early, and reducing inequalities in early diagnosis rates. She has an academic background in population health and biological sciences and has done policy and advocacy work for multiple charities.
Eleanor Mellor
Eleanor Mellor, Senior Policy Officer for Breast Cancer Now, leads its work on family history and genetic risk in breast cancer and supports Madeleine on wider work within early diagnosis and prevention. She has previously worked on policy areas including treatment and workforce within Breast Cancer Now. Before starting at Breast Cancer Now she worked on Child Health Policy and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and medicines policy at Hanover Communications.
Professor Ramsey Cutress
Professor Ramsey Cutress is Professor of Breast Surgery and Consultant Surgeon at the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton. His clinical research interests include the investigation of patient and host determinants of breast cancer outcomes including genetic predisposition, immunological and lifestyle factors and early onset breast cancer.
James Harvey
James Harvey is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon based at the Nightingale Centre. He specialises in research into surgical outcomes from breast surgery and in the development and assessment of new devices in breast surgery.
Professor Ashu Gandhi
Professor Ashu Gandhi is a Consultant Breast Surgeon in the Nightingale & PBC Breast unit, one of the largest in the UK. He is also lead surgeon in the Breast Family History service and lead surgeon for Pregnancy Associated Breast Cancer in the Manchester Breast Service. His research interests cover areas such as risk reducing breast surgery, health inequalities and surgical breast oncology.
Clare Garnsey
Clare Garnsey is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Associate Medical Director and Clinical Lead for breast cancer at the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, and a member of the breast faculty at the University of Manchester. At the Cancer Alliance, she has led regional projects to improve equity of access and standardise pathways in cancer prevention, genomic testing, early diagnosis and treatment.
Anthony Wilby
Anthony Wilby is a PhD student at the University of Manchester working under the supervision of Dr Hannah Harrison on a pioneering breast cancer prevention project funded by Prevent Breast Cancer. With a background in Medical Biochemistry, Anthony’s research focuses on developing a novel human breast tissue model that better mimics real-life conditions than traditional animal models to improve the testing of preventative drugs.
Our Dragons’ Den live grant-making round is back!
Back by popular demand, we will once again be offering the chance for you to win up to £10,000 for your research project and pitch your idea to our panel of experts during the conference!
Applications for our Dragons’ Den live grant-making round are now open! All applications should relate to the early diagnosis or prevention of breast cancer and applicants who are invited to participate must hold a ticket to the Research Conference. Applications close on Saturday 31st of January.
Submit an abstract for our poster session
We invite researchers to submit an abstract for our poster session – a highlight of the conference programme. This is your chance to showcase your research, spark discussions, and connect with leading experts, clinicians, and fellow delegates.
Posters will be displayed on the first day of the conference, offering a relaxed space for knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Whether presenting new findings or ongoing projects, this is an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of your work and contribute to advancing the field. Applications close on Saturday 31st of January.
Frequently asked questions
Tickets
Early Bird Price:
Standard Tickets – £225 per person.
Concession Tickets (for Nurses, Trainees, Students and Postdocs) – £150 per person.
Standard Ticket Price:
Standard Tickets – £300 per person.
Concession Tickets (for Nurses, Trainees, Students and Postdocs) – £200 per person.
Purchase Your Tickets Today!
If you wish to pay by card, please complete the below form. If you need an invoice for payment, please fill in this form.
About Prevent Breast Cancer
Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease. Join us today and help us create a future free from breast cancer. If you have any questions or concerns, email us today.
