Innovation Summit 2025 session recordings

Catch up on key insights and discussions from the 2025 edition’s keynotes and panels, and explore illustrated highlights. Illustrations by Alex Cagan. 

Two people connect at a networking event. One of them wears a white and black top, while the other wears a blue blouse.

Welcome and keynote session 1: Innovation is still a human contact sport!

  • Iain Foulkes, CEO of Cancer Research Horizons, welcomes attendees to the Innovation Summit
  • Followed by Keynote session 1
  • Speaker: Kirk Vallis, Cognitive diversity ambassador and speaker, Moving Ahead | Innovation and creativity expert, Google
Welcome and Keynote session 1 : Innovation is still a human contact sport!
This session explores the critical role of mindset and behaviour in shaping innovation. It will highlight how willingness to question current approaches, embracing adaptability and creativity, can unlock new opportunities, and overcome challenges.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary of a talk titled “Innovation is still a human contact sport” by Kirk Vallis from Google. Includes phrases like “Creative problem solver,” “Behaviours & Mindset,” “We don’t lack tech, we lack imagination,” and notes on brain channels, focus, and re-articulating ideas. Cancer Research Horizons branding and #InnovationSummit2025 appear at the top.

Keynote session 2

Accelerating research impact through opportunity and risk: an entrepreneurial journey to bring liquid biopsies to patients

  • Speaker: Nitzan Rosenfeld, Director and Professor of Applied Cancer Research at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London
  • In this session, Nitzan discusses the entrepreneurial journey with examples of spin-out, industry collaboration and alliances, and the essential skills and mindset required for successful entrepreneurship and leadership, including topics like risk-taking, resilience, adaptability, and innovation culture
Keynote session 2: Accelerating research impact through opportunity and risk
In this session, Nitzan discusses the entrepreneurial journey with examples of spin-out, industry collaboration and alliances, and the essential skills and mindset required for successful entrepreneurship and leadership, including topics like risk-taking, resilience, adaptability, and innovation culture.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025 titled ‘Accelerating research impact through opportunity and risk.’ Highlights include liquid biopsies, entrepreneurial strategies, scaling up, and key themes like resilience, luck, and passion. Notes reference diagnostic testing, circulating tumor DNA detection, and RaDaR assay sensitivity, presented with colorful handwritten text and science-themed icons.

Panel 1

From discovery to impact: mindset, journey and motivation — an early career perspective

Chair: Yupar Myint, Head of Entrepreneurship at Maxwell Centre, University of Cambridge

Panellists:

  • Jessica Corry, co-founder, Xterna
  • Alberto Conti, co-founder, Alceus Bio | University of Cambridge
  • Daniel Lucy, CEO and Co-founder, Siftr Bio
  • Debra Babalola, co-founder and COO, Dotplot 
From discovery to impact: mindset, journey and motivation — an early career perspective
This session explores what drives researchers to take their ideas beyond the lab, the hurdles they face —from limited resources and competing demand to, building the right networks.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘From Discovery to Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Highlights early career perspectives on mindset, motivation, and entrepreneurial journeys. Key themes include communication skills, role models, resilience, navigating uncertainty, leveraging networks, and learning from feedback. Colorful handwritten notes and science-themed icons emphasize collaboration and innovation

Panel 2

From discovery to impact: the role of start-ups in translating oncology innovation

Chair: Olivia Cavlan, LifeArc Ventures

Panellists:

  • Bobby Kaura, CEO and co-founder, Pathway Bio
  • Ed Tate, co-founder, Myricx Bio
  • Rebecca Todd, Investment Director, Longwall Ventures
  • Barbara Domayne-Hayman, Entrepreneur in residence, Francis Crick Institute and co-founder and Chair, KQ Labs
Panel 2: the role of start-ups in translating oncology innovation
This session showcases how start-ups contribute to translating cutting-edge cancer research into new treatments, tools and technologies.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘From Discovery to Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Focuses on the role of start-ups in driving oncology innovation. Key points include why start-ups matter, fitting into clinical care pathways, operational excellence, and building a strong narrative. Highlights fundraising challenges, team building, ability to pivot, and learning from experience. Presented with colourful handwritten notes and science-themed graphics

Panel 3

From discovery to impact: Harnessing the power of the ecosystem

Chair: Phil Clare, CEO, Queen Mary Innovation

Panellists:  

  • Angela Kukula, CEO, MedCity
  • Karolina Zapadka, Life Science Investor, BioInnovation Institute
  • Sophie James, CEO and co-founder, Anomer bio (formerly Glyconix)
  • Uday Phadke, CEO and co-founder, Triple Chasm
  • Stephanie Avraamides, COO and co-founder, Vellos | UK Lead, 50 Years
Panel 3: Harnessing the power of the ecosystem
This session explores how entrepreneurship ecosystem resources help innovators and entrepreneurs overcome barriers, strengthen development plans and refine propositions. Panellists share perspectives on the value of engagement across the ecosystem and how leveraging its support can accelerate progress and maximise impact.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘From Discovery to Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Focuses on harnessing the power of the ecosystem with themes like communication styles, team collaboration, and growing networks. Highlights include building support, connecting people, risk mitigation, and learning from experience, shown with colourful handwritten notes and graphics.
Alex Cagan's live illustrated summary of the panel.

Panel 4

From discovery to impact: Unlocking innovation through licensing and partnerships 

Chair: Stephen Mayhew, CBO, The Francis Crick Institute

Panellists:

  • Simon Youlton, Director of Early Strategic Partnerships, Novartis BioMedical Research
  • Kay Penicud, VP and Head of Research Partnerships, Apollo Therapeutics
  • Mark Halling-Brown, Head of Scientific Computing at Royal Surrey County Hospital | Co-lead, OPTIMAM
  • Samra Turajlic, Director, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute | Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust | Chief Investigator of translational studies into melanoma and kidney cancer, TRACERx
Panel 4: Unlocking innovation through licensing and partnerships
This panel explores licensing and industry collaboration as key drivers of progress – enabling innovators to share expertise, access new capabilities, and accelerate the journey from discovery to impact. Featuring perspectives from both academia and industry, panellists share real-world insights into how effective partnerships create value, reduce risk and foster outcomes that benefit all stakeholders.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘From Discovery to Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Focuses on unlocking innovation through licensing and partnerships, with keys to collaboration like co-creation, shared goals, and industry contacts. Highlights success factors such as human connection, clarity, and open communication, shown with colourful handwritten notes and puzzle-piece graphics.

Panel 5 and closing remarks

From discovery to impact: Emerging trends in oncology innovation

Chair: Phil Masterson, Associate Director, Ventures, Cancer Research Horizons

Panellists: 

  • Sonal Patel, VP Oncology Scientific Innovation, Johnson & Johnson 
  • Natalie Mount, CEO, Cytospire Therapeutics  
  • Jonathan Tobin, Partner, Brandon Capital | Investor-in-Residence, Cancer Research Horizons
  • Sergio Quezada, Professor of Cancer Immunology, University College London

Followed by closing remarks

  • Alessia Errico, Associate Director, Search and Evaluation and Entrepreneurial Programmes Lead, Cancer Research Horizons
Panel 5: Emerging trends in oncology innovation and closing remarks
This session highlights the trends set to transform cancer discovery, detection, prevention and treatment and examines how charities, governments, companies, and investors are seizing these opportunities. Followed by closing remarks.

Session highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘From Discovery to Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Focuses on emerging trends in oncology innovation, including safer drugs, spatial biology, immune therapies, and tumour micro-environments. Highlights challenges such as pricing, funding needs, and manufacturing, shown with colourful handwritten notes and science-themed graphics.

Pitch training workshop

Highlights

Illustrated summary titled ‘Lunchtime Workshop: Pitch Perfect! Communicating with Impact’ from Cancer Research Horizons Innovation Summit 2025. Shows key elements of a strong pitch, including problem, solution, market opportunity, team, and business model. Emphasises simplicity, knowing your audience, concise messaging, and using headlines, with colourful handwritten notes and graphics.