We would like to wish a huge congratulations to Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, HCUK Clinical Trustee and
 Director, who has been awarded an OBE in the 2022 Queens Jubilee Birthday Honours List.

Prof Fitzgerald, Director of CRUK Cambridge Centre Early Cancer Institute and Research Group Leader with the Department of Oncology, has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to cancer research.

Rebecca has led pioneering advances in research and technological innovation to detect cancer earlier in order to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Working with her team at University of Cambridge, Rebecca developed the Cytosponge – a screening test for Barrett's oesophagus, a common precursor to the often deadly cancer oesophageal adenocarcinoma.  This ‘sponge on a string’ test detects 10 times more cases of Barrett's, a condition that can sometimes lead to oesophageal cancer, compared with routine GP care.

When the pandemic struck, the Cytosponge trials were threatened but with the help of HCUK’s mobile diagnostic unit, the trial was able to continue and has been successful in identifying people with abnormal cells and needing further investigation who would otherwise have gone under the radar.

Well done, Rebecca, an accolade thoroughly deserved.