MEET THE TEAM

Network Oversight Group Members

Dr Sue Broster, Chair, EofE RTN
Dr Sarah Jefferies, Deputy Chair, EofE RTN
Dr Daniel Holyoake, Clinical Lead, EofE RTN
Dr Alex Martin, SABR Clinical Lead, EofE RTN
Dr Bernard Brett, Host Executive, EofE RTN
Michelle Bates, Programme Manager, EofE RTN
Alison Bowman, Project Manager, EofE RTN
Dr Sarah Smith, Clinical Lead, CUHFT
Jemma Chapman, Head of Radiotherapy, CUHFT
Andy Robinson, Head of Radiotherapy Physics, CUHFT
Dr Sadaf Usman, Clinical Lead, Colchester Hospital, ESNEFT
Dr Ram Venkitaraman, Ipswich Hospital, ESNEFT
Hayley James, Head of Radiation Services, ESNEFT
Gemma Bourne, Deputy Head of Radiotherapy, ESNEFT
Nicola Garnham, Deputy Head of Radiotherapy, ESNEFT
Mark Porter, Head of Radiotherapy Physics, Colchester Hospital, ESNEFT
Joanna Barraclough, Head of Radiotherapy Physics, Ipswich Hospital, ESNEFT
Dr Abby Cyriac, Clinical Lead, MSEFT
Sarah Walsh, Head of Radiotherapy, MSEFT
Nicky Whilde, Head of Radiotherapy Physics, MSEFT
Dr Gaurav Kapur, Clinical Lead, NNUHFT
Mark Gilham, Head of Radiotherapy, NNUHFT
Will Holmes-Smith, Head of Radiotherapy Physics, NNUHFT
Dr Sarah Treece, Clinical Lead, NWAFT
June Dean, Head of Radiotherapy, NWAFT
Jamie Fairfoul, Head of radiotherapy Physics, NWAFT
Gini Melesi, Head of Transformation and Lead for Clinical Networks, East of England Cancer Alliance
Patrick Hobbs, Commissioning Manager, NHS England Specialised Commissioning

Find out more about the role of the Network Oversight Group

Deputy Chair: Dr Sarah Jefferies

I am a consultant clinical oncologist based at Cambridge University Hospital (CUH). My clinical focus is in the management and treatment of skull base tumours and thyroid cancers. I have extensive experience as a local principal investigator leading on the management and delivery of clinical trials in neuro-oncology and thyroid cancer. I am committed in advocating for excellence in training neuro-oncologists for the future in my role as leader of the Fellowship Programme with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.

I have experience in a number of senior leadership roles. I am currently a deputy medical director in the Chief Medical Office at CUH. In this role I have been leading and delivering complex multidisciplinary projects within the hospital and the Addenbrooke’s Campus. I have been deputy chair of the East of England Radiotherapy Network since its inception which is a collaboration between the six hospitals within in the East of England working together to provide the best radiotherapy delivery and outcomes for the patient population. I have had a national role as chair of the NICE Guideline Committee for maternal and child Nutrition and weight management in pregnancy and nutrition in children up to 5 years (NG247) which was published in January 2025.

Clinical Lead: Dr Daniel Holyoake

I am taking on the role of Clinical Lead for the Radiotherapy Network from 2025. I aim to guide the team in preparing the Network for the challenges it faces and responding to the needs of its constituent hospitals and their patients. I am a Consultant in Clinical Oncology at Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust and have been since 2019. I specialise in the treatment of upper-gastrointestinal and HPB cancers and sarcoma.

I completed specialty training in the East of England and a DPhil research fellowship in pancreas cancer radiotherapy at Oxford. The science of radiotherapy technology development is exciting and I try to pass on my enthusiasm to the doctors in training that I supervise .

I believe in the potential opportunities for the region to work in closer collaboration, for the benefits of our staff and patients. I am passionate about the importance of radiotherapy in our cancer treatment armoury, but in the world of increasing systemic therapy options, radiotherapy must continue to develop and improve through service evolution and clinical research.

SABR Clinical Lead: Dr Alex Martin

My role is to provide strong clinical leadership for the continued roll-out of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) in the EofE RTN. This role supports an increase in the knowledge of clinicians, radiographers and physicists from across the EofE RTN to ensure excellent quality SABR treatment. I currently chair the EofE RTN SABR clinical meeting. This regular platform allows all centres to share experiences of SABR case selection, treatment planning and delivery, and post-treatment follow up.

Programme Manager: Michelle Bates

I have been in my role since October 2019, when the EofE RTN was officially launched. Before this I worked as a Therapeutic Radiographer in several departments across England, and also worked in Ireland and New Zealand. This has allowed me to develop a broad understanding of radiotherapy over the years, and led me to my final clinical role of radiotherapy treatment superintendent at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).

In my role I am required to work alongside the established team to facilitate effective and timely delivery of the radiotherapy service specification across the East of England. By building relationships and facilitating collaboration between radiotherapy colleagues and stakeholders across the network, I believe we can deliver improvements that can build resilience, improve the quality of services, and enhance the experience of radiotherapy for our patients. I am keen to raise the profile of the EofE RTN amongst the many stakeholders involved in radiotherapy regionally and nationally, as well as with patients. I would like to help increase recruitment into the radiotherapy workforce in our Network, and to ensure all patients are able to access radiotherapy where it is an appropriate treatment option.

Project Manager: Alison Bowman

I've been in my role since 2023. I have worked in radiotherapy for many years after qualifying as a Therapeutic Radiographer. I've worked in 5 Hospital Trusts and for two healthcare charities. In 2004, I became one of the first On Treatment Review Radiographers, establishing the role and developing the radiotherapy review service. Since then, I have developed and established patient and carer services for Macmillan Cancer Support and for a hospital charity in a large London hospital. More recently, I managed projects for different radiotherapy Networks.

In my role, I am required to support Michelle delivering the Service Specification. I manage various projects to deliver the service specification and support achieving our aims for the Network. I enjoy using data to support service development, so that people outside of the radiotherapy world can see the impact of innovation and understand the challenges that services and people who use the services experience. I am passionate about patient co-production, and keeping people who use our services central to service development.

Alison Bowman Project Manager East of England Radiotherapy Network