Our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board

Our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB) provides independent, objective reviews of our research programme and strategy. They ensure that we are investing in high quality, peer-reviewed research that serves the best interest of patients, scientists and clinicians and will bring us closer to a cure for brain tumours.

Members of our SMAB are chosen due to their internationally regarded experience and expertise, enabling them to provide invaluable scientific support and advice to the charity, our researchers and our Board of Trustees.

The SMAB assists the charity in reviewing and selecting new applications to be a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence and assesses the progress of our Research Centres and Funded Initiatives through Annual, Mid-term and Quinquennial (five-year) Reviews. The SMAB is asked to consider:

  • Are the Centres progressing according to plan?
  • Are they eliminating duplication of research?
  • Is the charity and its supporters receiving value for money? 


Further to the vital expertise they provide the charity in funding decisions, they also advise the charity’s Board of Trustees on the overall strategy for research and the identification of opportunities and gaps and on the best mechanisms to achieve the research objectives.

An essential component of the SMAB is our patient representative who provides a patient perspective on the research that we fund. They ensure that patient needs are well met and at the centre of our research focus.

This process of peer review is internationally recognised as best practice for ensuring that our funds are used wisely and effectively.  

Meet our SMAB Members

  • Professor Tony Marsden

    Chair of the SMAB, Professor of Neurology, University of Liverpool and Honorary Consultant Neurologist, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

  • Professor Frank A. Giordano

    Full Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Heidelberg, Germany

  • Professor Petra Hamerlik

    Chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology, University of Manchester

  • Dr Sean Lawler

    Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, USA

  • Dr Lennard YW Lee

    Associate Professor at Oxford University

  • Mr Richard Mair

    Assistant Professor and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.

  • Professor Paolo Salomoni

    Group Leader - Nuclear Function in CNS Pathophysiology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), University of Bonn, Germany

  • Dr Philip Scard

    Patient Representative

  • Professor Sheila Singh

    Professor and Head of Neurosurgery, Canada Research Chair and Director of the Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research at McMaster University

  • Professor Anna Dimberg

    Professor of Cancer and Vascular Biology, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Sweden

Meet our Advisors

  • Professor Garth Cruickshank

    Clinical Consultant and former Chair of the SMAB, Professor of Neurosurgery (Retired)

What happens if there is a Conflict of Interest?

Members of the SMAB include independent researchers who are not beneficiaries for a particular application round.

Any conflicts of interest must be declared and are taken into consideration during every stage of each review process.

Our Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality Policy is available from here.

Are the SMAB members paid for their time?

SMAB members are volunteers and do not receive any payment for their services, however reasonable expenses for travel and accommodation are provided. They are appointed as individuals to fulfil the role of the committee, not as representatives of their particular profession, employer or interest group. We are very grateful for their generous donation of time and expertise.