Championing voices at the Black in Cancer Conference 2024

Our Research Communications and Marketing Executive, Miriam Anorson , reports back from this year’s Black in Cancer conference and talks about how it’s helping to create a more diverse and inclusive research community.?

In 2022, Black in Cancer, in collaboration with Cancer Research UK, hosted its first ever conference at the Science Museum Group in London. This June, Black in Cancer built on this success and held its first US-based event in partnership with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research at the Natcher Conference Center in Maryland.??

The meeting was a remarkable gathering of minds that brought together over 300 oncologists, cancer researchers, students, patient advocates and funders dedicated to advancing cancer research and medicine within the Black community.

The theme of this year’s conference was ‘lifting as we climb’, and it did just that. The atmosphere in the auditorium was electric and the first day kicked off with Black in Cancer CEO and co-founder Sigourney Bonner receiving a standing ovation after she announced she’d completed her PhD just two weeks earlier.?

Lifting as we climb?

A common thread running through the conference was the theme of community, with each session highlighting the importance of it to improving both the quality of our research and health outcomes in the Black community.??

In the UK, just under 2% of the bioscience academic workforce identifies as Black, and, between 2018-2022, only 1% of people who applied for funding from Cancer Research UK identified as Black. As well as a lack of Black members in the research community, there is also an underrepresentation of Black patients in clinical trials. ??

This event truly served the purpose of bringing together Black researchers and equipping them with the tools to galvanise those yet to be a part of the community, lifting as they climb.?

Highlighting research and innovation and fostering health equity?

The conference provided a platform for some fascinating research spanning cancer biology, genomics and biobehavioural interventions among others. A highlight of the event was the keynote address from Melissa Boneta Davis , lead of Cancer Grand Challenges team SAMBAI, who are doing some pioneering work looking at genetic datasets annotated with population descriptors to understand how genetics and social determinants can affect tumour biology in different ethnic groups. She took us through a timeline of health injustice and detailed the work her team is doing to deduce the trickle-down effects on cancer outcomes today.?

There was a strong emphasis on the importance of diversity in clinical trials and the need for more inclusive research practices. On this, session speaker LeeAnn Bailey PhD commented, “we need to be honest and say that the diversity in trials is abysmal”.??

Few black patients enter the clinical trial process, despite being overrepresented in mortality rates and incidence of aggressive disease. She identified barriers to their participation including transportation issues or working hours; low awareness, such as lack of health and research literacy; structural racism; and lack of workforce diversity.??

For many Black researchers in both clinical and basic science, they’re often the pillar of knowledge for their community when it comes to clinical trials and treatment options. Many speakers highlighted much-needed, Black-led community outreach to improve access to early detection and treatment services, and to enhance patient education to combat this problem.??

In the words of Ricki Fairley , CEO of Touch, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance , “trial participation should be commensurate with the burden of the disease”.

Our partnership with Black in Cancer?

There was also a ‘mentorship in motion’ session with three generations of mentors/mentees discussing what makes a good mentor, their experiences of being a mentor/mentee, and transitioning from being a mentee to a mentor.??

Mentoring is an important part of making research more inclusive and accessible, as many Black undergraduates don’t have access to the information or help to get them into higher education and research positions.??

That’s why Cancer Research UK has partnered with Black in Cancer and the Windsor Fellowship to launch the Black Leaders in Cancer PhD Scholarship Programme. It aims to empower Black early career researchers to pursue a career in cancer research and help to build a network that provides invaluable peer support.??

The first students to embark on our Black Leaders in Cancer PhD Scholarship Programme started their studies in September 2023 and we can’t wait to see how they get on.??

Looking forward?

As the conference concluded, there was a shared sense of optimism and determination to continue the work that had been started. The connections made, knowledge shared, and inspiration gained from the event will undoubtedly fuel ongoing efforts to combat cancer disparities and uplift Black professionals in the field.??

As a former Black undergraduate student in a life sciences subject, attending was a unique experience that I’ll take forward with me forever, and I can only hope Black in Cancer will continue to inspire a generation of young Black researchers for years to come.?