Last year, we spent over £2million in research in a single year, growing our funded projects by an incredible 175% – moving, in one giant leap, from funding 4 projects in 2 locations to funding 11 projects, in 7 locations. Our most northern project is now in Aberdeen, whereas this time last year, it was South London!

We were able to do this due to the generosity and dedication of our supporters, and the talent and commitment of my colleagues. As our income grew, we wanted to grow our potential for making a difference. People generously give to us so we can invest it in research to save lives and everything we do as a charity is driven by the impact we can have for families affected by prostate cancer. Growing our research so dramatically gives us even more hope that we can have a future where no family needs to fear a prostate cancer diagnosis.

When we were a smaller charity, our scientists had a sense of community. With a number of them even based in the same campus, they could very easily share ideas. We didn’t want to lose that. A researcher based in Newcastle isn’t going to bump into a Cardiff scientist in the corridor, so we would have to create opportunities to bring our scientists together.

We organised Meet the Scientists as a unique, listening and learning event. We chose a roundtable format, and not to hide behind technology or powerpoint presentations, because we wanted everyone to feel comfortable, and on the same level. While there is a lot of value in public talks and Q&As, we wanted a different kind of event. Rather than have a scientist give a lecture, we wanted to facilitate two-way conversations between patients and scientists, so each could learn from the other. Although we had a number of different people, from different backgrounds in the room, we were all there for the same reason – we want the future to be brighter than the present.

We allocated staff and patients to tables, and rotated scientists, in their research teams, from table to table every 15 minutes. Prior to the event, we had prepared infographics and sent them to the patients, to introduce them to each project. We also had a list of suggested questions, in case anyone found it difficult to think of the first question.

One of my personal highlights of the day was the welcome given by Professor Colin Cooper, Associate Dean of Research at the University of East Anglia and Chair of our Scientific Advisory Committee, in which he encouraged “Patients – don’t be afraid of the scientists, because they’re not as clever as they think they are.”

We will definitely be hosting another Meet the Scientist Event and hope to make it at least annual. We may also, next year, host at least one Meet the Scientist event outside London, as we were aware that some people had travelled a long way, and we want to make our events accessible to more people. (One of our Aberdonian scientists was disappointed to learn that his Oxford-based contemporary had trumped him by coming directly to the event from a transatlantic flight). If you’d like to hear about future Meet the Scientist events, or to get involved with any of our patient voice work, please email Kath at [email protected].

We will also be arranging more events to keep our funded scientists across the country connected, and we will soon be launching another grant call, to throw a few more research projects into the mix.

The day would never have been such a success without Denise and Kath, who worked for a long time on the event. And, of course, without all of my colleagues, who made everyone feel welcome, and helped out with everything from handing out name badges to taking notes at focus groups. I want to thank them for making not only this event but all of the charity’s work possible.