Translational Genetics Group

Kerstin is currently an Administrative/project Assistant at the Institute of Cancer Research, working within Professor Clare Turnbull’s laboratory in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. In this role, my current focus is supporting the BRCA and RETRO projects, where I provide high-level administrative and project coordination support to ensure the smooth delivery of complex research activities.

Zehra Akar is an Administrative Assistant at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof. Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. With a background in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health and experience working in academic institutions and diagnostic laboratories, Zehra is currently providing administrative and operational support to the Jewish BRCA Testing Programme.

Sophie is a Data Manager and part-time PhD student at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology.  With a background in bioinformatics and genetics, Sophie’s current research focuses on quantifying evidence for variant interpretation in inherited cancers, as well as co-ordinating the CRUK-funded Cancer Gene MAVE (CG-MAVE) grant, and supporting operation of the Cancer Variant Interpretation Group UK (CanVIG-UK).

Miriam Babigumira is a Research Administrator at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. Having trained academically as a botanist, Miriam’s ethnobotanical work focused on documenting medicinal plant uses, supporting the sustainable use of plant resources, and contributing to community-led research. Her MSc in Women’s Health provided further insight into key areas of interest such as screening, early diagnosis, reproductive risk factors, lifestyle, and environmental exposures. Miriam draws on this training to bring an interdisciplinary approach to working collaboratively across various teams within Institute of Cancer Research and community partners in delivering programme objectives ethically as well as within agreed timeframes. Miriam is currently working on the Jewish BRCA Testing Program.

Rebekah Beaumont is a Research Administrator at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. Rebekah has contributed to both the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme and the NHS Retrospective Genetic Testing Programme. She completed her master's degree in Genomic Medicine in 2025, co-led by Kings College London and City St George’s University London, where her dissertation focused on variant interpretation in undiagnosed paediatric cases of cerebellar ataxia.

Nicola Bell is a Genomics Practitioner at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. Nicola is currently working on the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme and the NHS England Retrospective Genetic Testing Programme. Nicola studied Biology at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2022. Alongside her work at the ICR, she is completing an MSc in Genetic and Genomic Counselling with Cardiff University, due to graduate in 2026.

Dr Alice Garrett is an honorary clinical lecturer within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology and a consultant in Cancer Genetics at St George’s Hospital. Having completed her PhD on sarcoma susceptibility at the ICR, Alice currently works on variant interpretation in cancer susceptibility genes with Cancer Variant Interpretation Group UK (CanVIG-UK).

Charlotte Hennessy is a Research Administrator for the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme. She works within the Genetics and Epidemiology team under Professor Clare Turnbull. She recently transferred from The Royal Marsden Hospital trust where she was working in the Clinical Genetics team.

Zeid Kuzbari is a bioinformatician with a research focus on NGS whole-exome analyses of testicular germ cell tumours and breast cancer. He is also currently working on the implementation of functional assays of cancer susceptibility genes into the CanVar-UK data platform, supporting variant interpretation. Zeid completed a PhD in Genetics and Epidemiology at the ICR, holds a MSc in Biomedical Science from Université de Montréal, and has a strong background in immunology.

Sarah Lane is a Scientific Project Manager at the Institute of Cancer Research within Professor Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. Sarah is a registered associate public health nutritionist with a MSc in Global Public Health and Nutrition, and has previous experience working in policy research funding management, focusing on nutrition, maternal health, and health inequalities funding initiatives. Sarah is currently working on the delivery of the NHSE Retrospective Genetic Testing Programme and Jewish BRCA Testing Programme.

Dr Lucy Loong is a Cancer Research UK funded Clinical Research Fellow at The Institute of Cancer Research, a partnership analyst at the National Disease Registration Service, and a specialist doctor in Clinical Genetics. Her research focuses on the large-scale integration of nationally collected clinical genetic testing data and rare genetic disease registries with electronic healthcare records, including cancer registry data and hospital episode statistics. Using these linked population-level datasets, she applies data-driven and longitudinal analytic approaches to study cancer risk and outcomes, evaluate clinical service delivery, and assess cancer surveillance in individuals with inherited cancer susceptibility syndromes.

Yana Moscovitz is a Research Administrator at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. Yana joined the NHS England Retrospective Genetic Testing Programme in 2025 after completing an MSc in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia.

Sudeekshna Muralidharan is a Research Administrator in the Translation Genetics Team under Professor Clare Turnbull at the Institute of Cancer Research. She is a double-MSc graduate with an MSc in Genetics of Human Disease from UCL and an MSc in Cancer, Molecular Pathology and Genomics from QMUL. She completed her BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences at KCL in 2021. She started working on two projects at the ICR in May 2024. She has since been working solely on our largest ongoing programme, JBRCA, which currently tests over 43,000 patients. She is very interested in project management and hopes to develop her career within that discipline. She has an international background and was born in India but raised in Singapore and Belgium. She moved to London in 2018 for higher education and has been living there since.

Josh is a research Genetic Counsellor within the group, primarily helping to guide patients through their germline genetic testing process, aiding their adjustment journey when we identify pathogenic variants, and facilitating cascade testing for their at-risk relatives. Josh holds Health and Care Professions Council registration as a Clinical Scientist following completion of the NHS Scientist Training Programme in Genomic Counselling in Oxford in 2021. He also has quantitative and qualitative research experience from the University of Oxford studying the return of germline pathogenic variants as secondary findings from the NHS 100,000 Genomes Project.

Esther is a Research Administrator working within Professor Clare Turnbull’s team in Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research. Esther joined the ICR in 2024 to support the delivery of the Jewish BRCA Testing programme, population testing for hereditary cancer risk. With an academic background in Cancer Sciences and interest in public engagement, Esther is keen to develop her skills in both public engagement and clinical trials in oncology.

Andrea Osborne is a Research Administrator in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research, working within Professor Clare Turnbull’s team. She joined the ICR in 2014 after roles in the NHS and Local Authority, initially supporting the Oncogenetics Teams as Data Manager on key prostate cancer studies including UKGPCS, GENPROS and BARCODE1.

Charlie is a research bioinformatician within the Translational Genetics team. He completed his PhD at the University of Manchester in 2022, developing approaches for the prioritisation and investigation of splice-impacting variants in Mendelian disease. His current research focuses on developing methodologies to support the integration of functional data, particularly multiplex assays of variant effect (MAVEs), in the interpretation of germline variants in cancer susceptibility genes (CSGs). He also administers the CanVar-UK web platform for CSG variant interpretation.

Beth is a Scientific Programme Manager at the Institute of Cancer Research, within Prof Clare Turnbull’s team in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology. She also has an honorary contract within the Cancer Genetics Unit at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London (Prof Ranjit Manchanda).