Welcome to the Cancer Prevention and Screening Blog.
We are a group of epidemiologists, behavioural scientists and population researchers studying the causes of, and early events in, the development of cancer. Our aim is to interfere and prevent cancer, or to diagnose it early, while still easy to treat. The blog is supported by the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge.
Loubna Bijdiguen’s inspiring speech, “My Journey with PPI at QMUL: A Personal Reflection.”
9 June 2026
Our CCSPED Away Day brought colleagues together at the Museum of Docklands in London for a rare chance to step away from our individual projects and reconnect as a wider team. We met colleagues from different research projects, shared learning, and created new connections across the centre.
One of the absolute highlights of the day was Loubna Bijdiguen’s inspiring speech, “My Journey with PPI at QMUL: A Personal Reflection.” As a longstanding member of our PPI team, contributor to our ethics committee and research steering panel, Loubna offered a deeply personal look at why she became involved in research and what early cancer detection means to her and the communities she represents.
Loubna spoke honestly about what she gained from her PPI journey, including professional and personal growth, confidence and connections, as well as recognition and purpose. Her message to researchers across the centre was clear: Involve communities and PPI representatives from the very beginning, recognise and value lived experiences as expertise, and build lasting relationships, not just research projects together.
We are incredibly grateful to Loubna for her ongoing contributions and for sharing such a thoughtful reflection with us today. Her words reminded us why our work matters and how much stronger it becomes when we listen to the communities around us.
Mel Ramasawmy- Co-designing videos to explain ‘large language models’ in healthcare and research
4 November 2025
Large language models (LLMs) are a type of artificial intelligence which are being used more often in health care and research. Working with a group of PPIE contributors in Tower Hamlets, our research team co-created accessible resources to support the public to engage in LLM research and use them more safely.
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5 minutes with: Dr Oleg Blyuss
3 April 2025
Dr Oleg Blyuss is a Reader in Data Science and Statistics at the Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis. His research is around development of predictive models that use multi-omic data for the early detection of cancer. Current grants aim at the analysis of longitudinal data arising from serum biomarkers and MRI images, which allows for a personalised approach in early detection. Oleg holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, Ukraine.