UHP clinical oncology trainee awarded prestigious fellowship
Sarah Kingdon, who finished her clinical oncology training at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) in February, has been awarded the first fellowship in a new partnership that looks at improving brain tumour treatments.
The fellowship, part of the Tessa Jowell Fellowships Programme, is the result of a new collaboration between the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission and the Chief Scientist Office in Scotland. Sarah’s role has been co-funded by the Beatson Cancer Charity and NHS Lothian Charity, and she will share her time across the Beaston West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and will be returning to UHP as a consultant in 2026.
Sarah started her career at UHP in 2017 as a clinical fellow and a research fellow. She then began her academic training in clinical oncology in 2020, before completing it in February 2025. It was through her work with the neurology team in Devon and Cornwall, as well as the brain tumour research she engaged in at UHP, that she was informed about the opportunity to relocate to Scotland for the fellowship.
Reflecting on when she found out she was successful, Sarah said: “I was really excited at the opportunity when they offered it to me, but the enormity of the logistics did worry me. However, the benefits of the fellowship are so high that it is worth relocating for a year.
“In Scotland they have large early phase trials for the brain, and I am supported by four consultants in Edinburgh and three in Glasgow, which will help me learn how other people work – this can be really beneficial for patients. As these centres cover the majority of Scotland, I will also be able to get more exposure to rarer or more complex cases.”
The NHS reports that more than 12,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour in the UK each year, of which about half are cancerous. Many others are diagnosed with a secondary brain tumour with brain tumours affecting people of any age, including children, although they tend to be more common in older adults.
The 5-year survival rate for cancerous brain tumours remains relatively low, and the hope of this 12-month funded fellowship is for Sarah to gain a wider understanding of brain tumour management, while expanding her research skills by working on neuro-oncology clinical trials which could potentially improve the treatment options for brain tumour patients in the future.
“I am hoping this fellowship will give me more confidence for when I return to UHP as a consultant. At that point, I will know my style of practice and how to approach different patients. The fellowship will also help me to form a professional network between the centres in southwest and in Scotland. This will enable us to signpost our patients in the southwest to national clinical trials and treatments.
“What I have learnt already is that we are already doing a great job in Plymouth. We are delivering a high-quality service with less resource than other centres and I hope we will be able to do even more when I return next year. When we have two consultants in neuro-oncology we should be able to get involved with more clinical trials and hopefully provide more improvements to the services for our patients.”
UHP is an accredited South West Regional Centre for the treatment of brain and central nervous system tumours. The Neuroscience multidisciplinary team (MDT) at UHP serves a population of 1.7 million people across the whole of the Peninsula Cancer Network, running services in Plymouth, Truro, Torbay, Exeter, and North Devon.
