Report from training event for junior investigators in the ECMC network

Last month we were back up in Manchester for our annual training event for junior investigators in the ECMC network. This event kicked off the year-long series of activities for the 2025 JING Cohort. This year’s cohort is made up of about 50 trainees who were nominated by their ECMC Lead. At the event, we were also joined by many of our ECMC Leads and faculty which included patient representatives who took part in several sessions to demonstrate the importance of involving people affected by cancer in all areas of early phase cancer research.

Gary Middleton, ECMC Network Lead kicked off the event by highlighting the uniqueness of the ECMC network and encouraged all junior investigators to take full advantage of the opportunity to network with their peers and faculty members. Over the two days the trainees heard from speakers on subjects from working with industry, the use of statistics and some trial examples sharing lessons learned. They also took part in smaller group activities to allow for more focused discussions on their research interests and career journeys.

Day two of the event began with a session on patient and public involvement. PPI representatives facilitated group discussions on writing a lay summary and different ways to involve people affected by cancer in their research. The rest of the day was spent in small groups where the junior investigators presented their own study ideas and got feedback. Congratulations to the winners of the best study idea in each group: Emma Barlow (Newcastle), Caroline Bruce (Edinburgh), Frankie Fan (Leicester), Catherine Graham (Barts), Christopher Jenkins (Cardiff), Oliver Kennedy (Newcastle), Princess Nambo (Birmingham), Richard Phillips (Birmingham), Tanveer Shaikh (GOSH), Rhian Thomas (Southampton), Tanith Westerman (Barts) and Francis Young (Manchester). Watch out for further updates on the winners.

We are now planning a series of webinars for the rest of the year to support the training of the 2025 JING Cohort. Many of these webinars will be open to the wider JING community so keep an eye out for details. We are also exploring how we can continue to support the development of study ideas that were brought to the meeting and help to support the cohort in their career journeys.

Check out the JING pages on our website or contact Hannah Brown, Project Manager in the ECMC Programme Office if you would like to find out more about this work.