Training the next generation

LinkedIn profile: James Cairns | School of Medicine | University of Leeds and LTHT

James is an academic Radiology Registrar with a strong focus on integrating artificial intelligence into radiology. He has secured a Cancer Research UK funding for a Leeds-Manchester PhD, which explores the use of automated body composition analysis as a surrogate marker of frailty to guide personalised anal cancer treatment within the PLATO clinical trial framework.

With experience in extracting quantitative data from radiological images, James has developed a keen interest in AI-assisted imaging workflows to enhance diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making. As a member of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Imaging AI Board, he contributes to the implementation of AI-driven healthcare solutions. His work aims to bridge the gap between advanced imaging analytics and clinical practice, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Clinical Scientist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Anna is a Clinical Scientist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust specialising in radiotherapy physics, and is an NIHR Doctoral Fellow (NIHR303569).

Anna began her research career at Leeds as a CRUK RadNet funded research physicist from 2020 to 2024. Anna worked on projects involving the use of artificial intelligence in radiotherapy in projects such as automatically contouring organs at risk to improve the efficiency of radiotherapy planning, and predicting organ motion for improved targeting of lung and liver cancers.

Anna’s experience as a RadNet physicist supported her to apply for an NIHR Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship which she was awarded in April 2024. Her primary PhD supervisor is Professor Ann Henry.

Anna’s PhD is focused on improving the personalisation of radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer aiming to reduce the radiation-induced side-effects patients experience. She will be investigating the use of advanced image registration techniques to improve how we target the cancer, and working in collaboration with researchers from the international multi-centre prospective EMBRACE-II trial to explore how advanced techniques are implemented across international centres.

Isuru’s project focussed on AI for motion modelling in radiotherapy, Theme 1, WP1. This research aimed to envisage a hybrid modelling approach that integrates biomechanical models of the relevant organs with deep learning techniques (Deep Motion Models) to estimate internal anatomical deformations in real-time.  

Isuru holds a Degree in Master of Science (Engineering) from the University of Moratuwa.   

Profile: Isuru Wijesinghe | School of Mechanical Engineering | University of Leeds

Behnaz’s project will explore machine learning for outcome prediction after pelvic radiotherapy, Theme 1, WP2.  

Behnaz received her B.S. degree in computer engineering, in 2014, and her M.S. degree in 2018, both from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Mashhad, Iran. She was a research student of MVLab (Machine Vision Laboratory) in FUM during her studies.  

Profile: Behnaz Elhaminia – CISTIB Portal

Stelios’s PhD project focuses on predicting treatment outcome in anal cancer, Theme 1, WP2. In collaboration with multiple institutions , a distributed learning framework is being employed which allows the development and validation of machine learning models across centres. His aim is to develop robust outcome prediction models that can be used in a clinical setting to inform and guide the RT-based treatment of anal cancer. 

Stelios completed his Masters in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology at the University of Manchester and worked as a data scientist at the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA). 

Profile: Stelios Theophanous | School of Medicine | University of Leeds

Matt Beasley is an Advanced Practitioner Therapeutic Radiographer working in the Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies Network (ART-NET) at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He has been awarded a HEE/NIHR ICA Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (CDRF).  

The prestigious NIHR CDRF fellowship provides non-medics with funding to complete a PhD whilst continuing with their clinical career. Over the four years of the fellowship, Matt will be working closely with the clinical and radiotherapy research teams at Leeds Cancer Centre and the University of Leeds on a PhD project entitled: MRI scans with respiratory Immobilisation to Contour Radiotherapy Organs at risk using oral Contrast of Hypo or hyper intense fluids Including the Patient perSpective: The MICROCHIPS study.  

Jim is an academic clinical radiology trainee, and has been competitively awarded the CRUK Leeds-Manchester Stella Erdheim Clinical PhD Fellowship (£255k) to investigate novel prostate re-irradiation. 
 
Jim will contribute to Theme 2 with a research project entitled ‘Personalising re-irradiation of locally recurrent prostate cancer directed by MR Imaging and hypoxia biomarkers.’ He will recruit participants to a biomarker driven pilot study across RadNet Centres as part of this project.  

Profile: Jim Zhong I School of Medicine I University of Leeds

Robert Samuel is a current clinical oncology specialist trainee in the West Yorkshire programme. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh before moving to Newcastle for Academic Foundation Training and then to Leeds for an Academic Clinical Fellowship in Leeds. He is starting a CRUK Leeds-Manchester Clinical Research Training Fellowship in October 2020.  

Robbie’s PhD project is entitled ‘Rationally developing the next generation of personalised target drug-chemotherapy combination trials in anal cancer’. His work is part of theme 3 and he is interested in early phase translational trials in lower GI cancer using novel radiotherapy-drug combinations.”