In well-deserved recognition of her work to reduce the burden of brain cancer by identifying new risk factors and biomarkers, Kathreena Kurian has been awarded a Professorship.
Professor Kurian works with a tight knit group of researchers at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and now, as a Professor of Neuropathology, she intends to continue her work on brain tumours to inform prevention, personalised diagnosis and treatment.
Professor Kurian is also a very visible brain tumour campaigner. She spoke at the November 2020 meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) where she addressed the issue of funding and the structural problems that researchers face, in accessing funding particularly in relation to the £40 million funding made available for allocation to brain tumour researchers through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in 2018. Currently less than 25% of this funding has been allocated.
Professor Kurian said: “For me, my passion for brain tumour research is personal as well as professional because I have a family member affected and I understand first-hand the urgent need for change and progress in our field.
“I hope also to be a positive role model and inspire the next generation of people like me to join me in brain tumour research because we need the brightest minds from every background bringing different ways of thinking and new ideas to defeat this devastating disease.”
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