Our trustees

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We are governed by a Board of Trustees who volunteer their time to ensure the charity meets its objectives. Below is a profile for each of our trustees detailing their background, skills and the experience they bring to running the charity.

One of our original trustees, Clive Stone MBE was a member of the original voluntary-run group since he was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2007. From then until his death in June 2016, Clive worked tirelessly to ensure equal access to treatments for kidney cancer patients. You can read Clive’s full story here, and the impact he had on access to treatments for patients.

If you would like to contact the trustees, please email us.

Andrew Thomas, Chair

Andy is a kidney cancer survivor diagnosed in 2006 aged 44 with a cystic clear cell carcinoma. Andy underwent an open radical nephrectomy; luckily the tumour was low grade and low stage with no metastases and since then no further treatment has been needed.

As a consequence of feeling so lucky to have come out in one piece Andy then went on to create the Kidney Cancer Resource to help others wanting to find out more about the condition, or needing help understanding some of the complex clinical language used that can often be frightening and confusing for newly diagnosed patients.  As a technologist Andy used his knowledge to build the resource and maintain and add to it on a daily basis.

Andy is also a keen cyclist, and has led 4 cycle rides from London to Paris raising money to promote awareness for kidney cancer.

Having spent 25 years as an investment banking technology director, Andy made the switch to work for the NHS.  Initially for 4 years as the Chief Information Officer for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and latterly for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the Director of Informatics and CIO.

Andy has since closed down the Kidney Cancer Resource to help with the fantastic work Action Kidney Cancer is achieving as the Chair of our Trustees.

Professor James Larkin MA PhD FRCP

Professor James Larkin is a Medical Oncologist specialising in the treatment of melanoma and cancers of the kidney.

Professor Larkin grew up in North Cornwall before taking a first in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. He undertook clinical training at Oxford University, qualifying in 1996. He underwent general medical training in London and in 2001 won a Medical Research Council Fellowship for a Clinician, carrying out laboratory research at the Institute of Cancer Research leading to a PhD. Specialist training was completed at The Royal Marsden Hospital and he was appointed a Consultant in 2008.

His research interests involve trying to understand cancer and its consequences better, as well as developing improved treatments, particularly with targeted therapies and immunotherapies. In the past he has served on the Medical Oncology Specialist Advisory Committee for the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board, as the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) National Specialty Lead for Early Phase Oncology Trials and as Vice Chair of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Clinical Research Committee as well as Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Renal Cancer Clinical Studies Group, The Royal Marsden/Institute of Cancer Research Committee for Clinical Research and the CRUK Clinical Research Monitoring Panel.

In 2018 he was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in 2020 as an NIHR Senior Investigator. From 2022 he has led the Cancer Immunotherapy Theme at The Royal Marsden/Institute of Cancer Research NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.  Professor Larkin serves as a medical advisor to the patient advocacy group Melanoma UK, as a trustee of Action Kidney Cancer and sits on the Medical Advisory Board of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC).

Professor Samra Turajlic BA MBBS MRCP PhD

Professor Samra Turajlic completed her undergraduate studies at Oxford University and her clinical training at UCL medical school.

She gained a PhD in 2013 from University of London (ICR) in the field of melanoma genetics and targeted therapy resistance.

In 2014 she was awarded a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship to study cancer evolution at the Francis Crick Institute (FCI). She completed her training in medical oncology in 2015 and joined the Skin and Urology Units at the Royal Marsden Hospital as a Consultant Medical Oncologist.

She became an independent Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute in 2019, and divides her time between the clinic and her lab. Professor Turajlic is the Chief Investigator of translational studies into melanoma and kidney cancer. Her main research goal is to improve our understanding of the biology of kidney cancer and melanoma and the reasons for treatment success and failure. Her clinical research interest is in validating novel targets and therapies for these diseases.

She is a European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Faculty member for genitourinary cancers, and Scientific Committee member for ESMO, Molecular Analysis for Personalised Therapy, Kidney Cancer Association, and EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposia. She is also a Trustee of Melanoma Focus, as well as a Senior Editor at Macmillan Cancer Support.

Alison Fielding BA Dip Management

Alison was diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer in 2014. After a nephrectomy and stereotactic radiotherapy for a small brain metastasis, she has been on oral targeted therapy for her disease since 2015. As one of the moderators of our Facebook community, she has a good understanding of patient experience and concerns across all kidney cancer types and stages. Alison has been a patient advocate for some years and has represented patients’ views at a NICE Health Technology Assessment, European Medicine Agency (EMA) hearings, Parliament and as a TV and conference speaker. She was a consumer representative on the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Clinical Study Group for Bladder and Renal Cancer and has served on several clinical trial steering groups. She was also on Cancer Research UK’s national Cancer Insight Panel and continues to work with them on strategy and in staff development.

She is Chair of Cardiomyopathy UK, a medium sized charity supporting people affected by cardiomyopathy and myocarditis across the globe through patient support, clinical training, assistance with research and awareness raising. Her term has seen the charity grow substantially in size and scope. This has equipped her with extensive knowledge of charity governance and health related charitable activities.

Now retired from paid work, she previously worked as a Major Account Sales Director in a global IT provider.

Jonathan Pym BSc ACA

Jon was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2006 and, having had his kidney removed, metastases showed up in his lungs two years later. A journey through systemic treatment, enhancing his immune system, various surgeries, and latterly the latest stereotactic radiotherapy to deal with brain metastases, Jon remains on the surface fit and active and keen to give hope to anyone finding themselves facing a future with cancer.

Jon lives in Warwickshire, and is a qualified accountant and a trustee of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau in Oxford.

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