This month we say goodbye with thanks to Pippa Branch and James Morley-Smith who have been our lay parent representatives on the CHECT Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) since 2019. These roles were created to ensure that alongside the subject experts who make up our SAC, we also have parents with lived experience of having a child with retinoblastoma (we also have a lay adult representative role). These lay or non-professional roles help us to ensure we continue to fund the research that matters most to people directly affected by retinoblastoma.
Taking over the mantle from Pippa and James will be Emily Davison and Chris Nash, and we look forward to welcoming them to the SAC.
We were overwhelmed by the interest in these roles, and in 2026 will be looking for ways we can involve the wider membership in our research work, as it is clearly a key area of interest for so many of you.