Plymouth Brain Tumour Research Symposium 2025

Celebrating the research from the University of Plymouth’s Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence
Brain with blood vessels and tumor- 3d Illustration
 

  • Rosa Bale Lecture Theatre, John Bull Building, Plymouth Science Park, 16 Research Way, Plymouth PL6 8BU

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The South West Brain Tumour centre is one of four UK Centres of Excellence funded by the charity Brain Tumour Research.
Brain tumours are a leading threat to human health. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, with 10 lives lost each day. This presents a stark picture for public health, particularly as there is very little understanding of what causes brain tumours and this area of research is critically underfunded – receiving only 1% of the national spend on cancer research.
This symposium of the South West Brain Tumour Centre is to celebrate some of our achievements and stimulate discussion with clinicians on the ground.
The world-leading research in the centre led by Professor Oliver Hanemann’s seeks to discover new treatments and a cure focused on low-grade brain tumours, for the benefit of patients and their families.

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Programme

09:30–10:00 | Registration and posters set up
10:00–10:10 | Opening: Professor Oliver Hanemann, Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth
10:10–10:45 | Meet the team (TBC)
10:45–11:40 | Keynote: ‘From the incidentaloma to the clinically aggressive: changing the management of meningioma’ by Professor Michael Jenkinson, Professor Michael Jenkinson, Sir John Fisher Foundation and Royal College of Surgeons of England Chair of Surgical Trials, University of Liverpool and Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
11:40–12:00 | Break for coffee
12:00–12:20 | ECR talk: ‘Cellular and metabolic nature of Hexokinase 2 regulation in meningioma’ by Dr Leandro De Assis, Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth
12:20–12:40 | ECR talk: ‘Establishing a reversible culture model of quiescent glioma stem cells as a discovery platform for novel therapy targets’ by Ms Sarah Robbins, Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth
12:40–13:05 | Flash talk (virtual): Title TBC by Dr Rita Fior, Principal Investigator, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
13:05–14:15 | Break for lunch and poster session
14:15–15:10 | Keynote: ‘Low-grade gliomas – a 25 year journey’ by Dr Jeremy Rees, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery UCLH Foundation Trust and Honorary Associate Professor at University College London
15:10–15:30 | ECR talk: ‘HDAC inhibitor LAQ824 enhances the antitumour effects of radiotherapy in high-grade meningioma via potent DNA damage’ by Ms Shahana Shaji, Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth
15:30–15:50 | ECR talk: ‘Targeting aldehyde dehydrogenases in NF2-null meningioma and schwannoma tumours’ by Ms Libby Hassell-Williams, Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth
15:50–16:00 | Lightning talk: Brain Tumour Research charity, the mission
16:00–16:05 | Acknowledgements and close: Professor David Parkinson and Dr Claudia Barros

Keynote speakers

Michael Jenkinson
Professor Michael Jenkinson is Sir John Fisher Foundation and Royal College of Surgeons of England Chair of Surgical Trials and Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Liverpool and Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.
He is co-director of the North West Surgical Trials Centre.
He chairs the Academic Committee of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons and the EORTC Meningioma Committee.
His research interests include meningioma and cerebral metastasis, and clinical studies on quality of life in brain tumours.
He is the chief investigator for the international, multi-centre ROAM-1308 trial (Radiation versus Observation following surgical resection of Atypical Meningioma), STOP ‘EM (Surgeons Trial Of Prophylaxis for Epilepsy in Meningioma) and SPRING (Seizure Prophylaxis In Glioma).
 
Dr Jeremy Rees
Dr Jeremy Rees is a Consultant Neurologist at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH Foundation Trust and an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL. He specialises in neuro-oncology particularly in low-grade brain tumours, neurological complications of cancer and cancer treatments and paraneoplastic neurological syndromes.
He qualified in 1988 from University College and Middlesex Medical School with distinctions in Medicine, Surgery and Therapeutics.
After postgraduate training in general medicine and neurology, including a spell at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, New York, he was appointed in 1999 as Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. He was the first neurologist to be appointed with a specialist interest in Neuro-oncology.
He was Clinical Lead for the Brain Tumour Unit at UCLH, the Pathway Director for Brain Cancer at London Cancer and the neurology expert member of the NICE Guidelines Committee, which has published national guidelines on the treatment of primary and secondary brain tumours. He is the neuro-oncology expert on the Neurology Panel of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and has updated the current ‘fitness to drive’ guidelines for patients with brain tumours. He sits on the Neuro-oncology Advisory Group for the Association of British Neurologists and on the editorial board of the journal Practical Neurology.
He has written numerous chapters on neuro-oncology for major reference neurology textbooks. He has written over 80 peer-reviewed research papers including a comparison of outcomes over 10 years for patients with Low-Grade Gliomas. He runs the Special Study Module in Neurology for UCL Medical School and lectures to MSc courses at UCL Institute of Neurology. He runs the Queen Square Neuro-oncology Course.
He is the Honorary Treasurer of the Association of British Neurologists.
 
The University of Plymouth is a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.
The world-leading research in the centre led by Professor Oliver Hanemann’s seeks to discover new treatments and a cure focused on low-grade brain tumours, for the benefit of patients and their families.
Find out more about our world-leading brain tumour research
Caprice and Brain Tumour Research supporters at the Plymouth Centre of Excellence
Caprice, Brain Tumour Research researchers and Brain Tumour Research supporters at the Plymouth Centre of Excellence
 
Brain Tumour Research is an official charity partner of the University of Plymouth. We're one of only three universities in the UK currently working with the charity to improve the treatment and outcomes of brain tumours.

  • Brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer.
  • There are over 120 different types of brain tumour.
  • It is estimated that around 16,000 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour.
  • Less than 20% of brain tumour patients survive beyond five years of their diagnosis.
  • Ten people a day die of a brain tumour.
Statistics provided by Brain Tumour Research.

Our Brain Tumour Research Centre for Excellence

 
Our Centre of Excellence is one of Europe’s leading research institutes for low-grade brain tumours.
The Plymouth team, led by Professor Oliver Hanemann, has a world-leading track record in researching low-grade brain tumours occurring in teenagers and adults. By identifying and understanding the mechanism that makes a cell become cancerous, the team are exploring ways to halt or reverse them.
Click your way through the lab and watch videos of researchers explaining how they are working to gain a deeper understanding of the disease, developing new treatments and therapies and ultimately getting closer to finding a cure. Discover the equipment that scientists use every day to make ground-breaking steps in brain tumour research, and visit the Wall of Hope to see tiles which have been placed by our amazing supporters who have sponsored a day of research.
Image for publications on BTR lab page
 

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