Spotlight on: Michelle Lockley

What is your role and how long have you been at Barts Cancer Institute?

I am a Professor of Medical Oncology and Hon. Consultant and I have worked at BCI for 14 years.

Why did you choose to apply for the CoL Centre CRTF programme?

I had a project idea that was very focused on treatment and required some interaction with patients so it was a perfect fit. This project is quite close to the clinic and I hope it will lead to a clinical trial. Ideally, my fellow will eventually be involved in that next step. Having supervised a previous clinical fellow through that process I have seen how the involvement of someone so directly invested in the project can help with trial development as well as being hugely helpful for the fellow’s own career development.

The CoL Centre spans 4 institutions and we require that supervisor teams are from different institutions. How does this benefit your current CoL Centre students and yourself?

I have two current students and it is helpful for them to engage with a variety of research environments and to bring that learning back to the group. I have also enjoyed how it has provided new directions and collaborations for my own research.

Being a clinical academic yourself, what do you think a clinical fellow brings to a research team?

Clinical fellows bring an appreciation of the bigger clinical picture and that relevance has an important impact on the wider work in the group. They are also already used to being in the workplace and have some leadership experience from their clinical work, so it’s fun to have that diversity of skills and experience within the team.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would encourage her to be more confident in her ideas, abilities and the value she brings. I would show her how to be brave. I would teach her what is acceptable and tell her when to say no.

What would surprise people to know about you?

Goodness, where to start??? Last year I obtained a black belt in taekwondo – even I’m quite surprised about that one!

What is your favourite place?

East London all the way! (and the Italian lakes of course!)