Meet the team - Cancestry

At the heart of our organisation is a team of dedicated, experienced professionals committed to making a difference. Our Executive Director brings expertise in research, service development, and charity management. Our Trustee Board has decades of experience in healthcare, advocacy, finance, and digital strategy. We are supported by Expert Advisors—leaders in oncology, preventative medicine, and medical genetics—with roles at the top academic and clinical institutions in the UK. Together, these people empower Cancestry to drive meaningful change for individuals and families affected by hereditary cancer.

Meet our staff

Katrina Jacobs Sarig

Executive Director & Founder

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish community.   Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the expert advisory group for the NHS Jewish BRCA testing programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Aviva Lewis

Research & Development Manager

As an experienced research and development manager, Aviva is helping to develop our core information and signposting resource as well as supporting other projects .    

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Having completed her degree in Biomedical Sciences (First Class), Aviva has spent over 8 years working for healthcare-related charities in a variety of roles. She worked initially as a researcher for Chana, the Jewish community fertility charity and then joined Jnetics in 2016, a charity dedicated to the prevention and management of disorders that are more prevalent in people of Jewish ancestry.   Working for this charity, Aviva was involved in developing and helping to manage their school, student, and community education and carrier testing services. Her role evolved to include community outreach and engagement, and website and E-learning content development. Prior to joining Cancestry, she became the BRCA Programme Development Manager for Jnetics where she was involved in the development of outreach resources and initiatives to raise awareness of the NHS Jewish BRCA testing programme.  

Channah Lipszyc

Executive Assistant & Administrator

Channah supports our Executive Director with the administrative elements of running Cancestry, including being responsible for the charity database and bookkeeping.

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Before joining Cancestry, Channah has worked for over ten years in executive support and administrator roles within the finance sector, and has completed degrees in both Office Management and International Business and Languages.

Meet our trustees

Stephen Deitch

Senior consultant in Life Science sector | Global drug pricing consultant | Pharmacist of over 35 years | NHS Healthcare Director and Executive

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Stephen trained as a pharmacist and after practicing for a number of years moved into the NHS managing regional prescribing issues and drug budgets. He spent the last 5 years in the NHS as a Director of Commissioning and Performance Management before moving to the private sector as a strategy consultant. Here he specialises in global drug pricing and market access, working in collaboration with some of the largest Life Science companies in the world. Stephen has been a Director of the New Israel Fund and is currently a volunteer for the Community Security Trust. Stephen joined Cancestry in 2024 and currently chairs the Board of Trustees.

Jonathan Ledermann

Professor of Medical Oncology at UCL Cancer Institute | Consultant Medical Oncologist at UCL Hospitals | Former Director of the Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre | Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences |

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Professor Ledermann has more than 30 years in cancer medicine, and he was the Director of the Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre for over two decades. He has led several national and international clinical research trials in ovarian cancer and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Recent past appointments include Senior Investigator for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), subject Editor for ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) Gynaecological Cancer Practice Guidelines and Vice President of ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology). He is a past chair of the NCRI (UK) Gynaecological Cancer Group and a council member of the IGCS (International Gynecologic Cancer Society) and BGCS (British Gynaecological Cancer Society). Jonathan is on the Editorial board of several cancer journals and has published widely on his research. He frequently lectures at international meetings sharing his specialist expertise. He is a founder Trustee of Cancestry and provides oversight of our clinical-related content.

Paul Israel

Chartered accountant | Financial consultant for hotel and property sectors | Experienced charity Trustee

Caroline Presho

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After finding out she carried a BRCA2 mutation in 2007, Caroline has had multiple risk reducing surgeries and has shared her experience and time in support of others impacted by BRCA ever since. Having trained as a peer support volunteer, Caroline works on the Breast Cancer Now (BCN) Someone Like Me helpline supporting others managing their inherited cancer risk and/or affected by breast cancer. She was the director of BRCA umbrella on-line forum (3000+ members) for over a decade and worked as a BRCA specialist for The Eve Appeal and other charities. Caroline’s awareness raising work includes appearing on BBC TV and radio news, Sky Sunrise, ITV and CNN (on behalf of BCN) and in the Guardian, the Lady and various women’s weekly magazines. She also talks to medical students, GP groups, and at international conferences to provide a patient voice regarding cancer predisposition. Outside of her BRCA-related activities, Caroline works for Caudwell Youth, a charity that mentors at-risk 11-24 year olds and is passionate about supporting young people and mentors. Caroline is a Trustee of Cancestry and has oversight of the patient and public involvement in all development and other activities.

Joel Davis

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Joel is a pioneer in the field of digital marketing, a thought leader and coach in this area and in the e-commerce and innovation space. He has over two decades of digital marketing experience, having worked at Virgin media, British Airways and MRM Worldwide (McCann) before starting his own agency, Mighty Social, in 2007.   Under Joel’s direction, Mighty Social rapidly secured a diverse client base leading to the agency receiving multiple Financial Times and Deloitte fast growth awards before selling the agency in 2022. As a founding member of the Data and Marketing Association’s (DMA) Social Media Council, a DMA awards judge, MBA speaker and Forbes Business Council Member, Joel regularly shares insights as a speaker on digital marketing and innovation in between his consultancy work.   He is a founding member of Cancestry sharing his considerable creative and marketing expertise in support of our work.  

Liz Avital

Independent healthcare development consultant | PHD in health sciences | 20+ years’ experience in UK and global health and social care development | Lead for Royal Free Hospital COVID vaccination centre

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Liz holds a PhD in health science and specialises in the application of cross-cultural knowledge implementation, contextual and cultural sensitivity. She has worked extensively on global health and social care development projects and has experience establishing community health initiatives in the UK. During Covid, Liz was responsible for setting up, creating the SOPs for, and running the vaccination centre at the Royal Free Hospital. She has considerable charity experience, serving as a Board Governor and then Chair at a primary school and a Trustee and Chair of Deafkidz International, each over a period of 8 years. Liz is also a lay member of the General Dental Council’s Professional Hearings Service. Liz joined Cancestry as a Trustee in 2024 sharing her health system, charity governance and other relevant knowledge and skills.

Meet our expert advisors

Ranjit Manchanda

Professor of Gynaecological Oncology & Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at QMUL* and Barts Health NHS Trust | Lead at Barts Health Women’s Precision Prevention service | Co-lead at the Cancer Screening, Prevention and Epidemiology Unit at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, QMUL | Clinical Lead for the NICE guideline Familial Ovarian cancer | Commissioner for Lancet commission on Ovarian Cancer

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Professor Manchanda’s research interests are focused on Targeted Precision Prevention. This includes population-based genetic testing, mainstreaming genetic testing and precision medicine approaches for risk prediction, stratification, targeted screening and targeted cancer prevention, along with health economic issues related to these areas of research.  He led the GCaPPS (Genetic Cancer Prediction through Population Screening) trial on BRCA testing in the UK Ashkenazi Jewish population, received an NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellowship award for this in 2019, leading to the NHS Jewish BRCA testing programme. He leads the PROTECT-C general population testing study along-with number of other studies related to genetic testing and cancer prevention, such as, DETECT-2, PROTECTOR, OVACATCH, PRESCORES, SECRETS, UKCOGS, etc.  He is the Topic Advisor (Clinical Lead) for the NICE guideline NG241 on Familial Ovarian cancer and a Commissioner for Lancet commission on Ovarian Cancer. He has received numerous national and international awards and has published and lectured widely on topics related to both his academic research and clinical work.  *Queen Mary University London

Ros Eeles

Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancers Research | Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology and Oncogenetics at The Royal Marsden Hospital | Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of Radiologists | Leads of largest UK prostate cancer genetic study | Founder of flagship Prostate Risk clinic at Royal Marsden Hospital

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Professor Eeles is both a clinician and scientist and has been instrumental in ensuring new discoveries in cancer genetics immediately benefit patients, particularly in her specialty areas of BRCA-mutations, other DNA repair gene-mutation carriers, and prostate cancer. She trained at the University of Cambridge and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, has a PhD in cancer genetics and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of Radiologists (Clinical Oncology Faculty). She returned from the USA in 1994 and is lead of the Institure of Cancer Research (ICR) Oncogenetics Team which has a programme of research in genetic predisposition to prostate cancer and management of individuals with BRCA and other DNA repair gene mutations. She leads the largest prostate cancer genetic study in the UK, set up an international consortium that involves over 100 research groups worldwide, and leads multiple clinical trials and screening studies. She also started the flagship Prostate Risk clinic at RMH to evaluate the increasing role of genetic testing in men with and at risk of prostate cancer. She has sat on many genetics advisory committees, both national and international. She has edited a major textbook on genetic predisposition to cancer and a special edition of the Familial Cancer journal ‘Delivering cancer genetics services – new ways of working’. She is the Genomics Champion for the Royal College of Radiologists (Clinical Oncology Faculty) for the Academy of Royal Colleges. She is an author of over 450 papers and her book which she led as lead editor ‘Cancer Prevention and Screening’ won the BMA Chairman’s Book of the Year Award in 2019.

Tracie Miles

Gynaecology cancer nurse specialist and genomics practitioner at Bath Royal United Hospitals | Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the South-West Genomic Medicine Service Alliance | Post-graduate module lead | International lecturer | Member of NICE specialist committee for Lynch and Ovarian Cancer | Genomic Nurse Consultant to the Eve Appeal | Industry consultant

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Tracie has been a cancer nurse specialist for 25 years, focusing on mainstreaming counselling and consent in oncology over the last decade. Tracie runs MSc and PGCert modules for nurses and midwives in genomics at the University of SW England, lectures in the UK and abroad on this subject and has published in professional journals. She sits on the NICE specialist committee for Lynch (DG42) and for OC, Identifying & Managing Familial & Genetic Risk, on the BGCS council and on the APPG committee for BC, OC, and women’s health. She is a Genomic Nurse consultant to The Eve Appeal, the NHS lead on co-design digital patient empowerment project “BReast CAncer Genes and Me” and is a consultant to industry partners on patient genomic information products.  Tracie is passionate about information provision and support for her patients and families and is delighted to support the vital work Cancestry.

Marc Tischkowitz

Professor & Honorary Consultant in the Department of Medical Genetics at Cambridge | Head of Cambridge University Medical Genetics Department | Consultant and Cancer Genetics Lead at the NHS East Anglian Medical Genetics Service | Editor-in-Chief of the BJC Reports | Founding member of the PALB2 interest group | Former Chair of the UK Cancer Genetics Group | Executive member of the European Reference Network GENTURIS for hereditary cancer syndromes

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Professor Tischkowitz heads the Department of Medical Genetics at Cambridge University and is a Consultant and Cancer Genetics Lead at the NHS East Anglian Medical Genetics Service. He completed his medical degree in 1993 and trained in Medical Oncology before gaining his specialist certification in Medical Genetics. From 1999-2002 he undertook a PhD researching the role of Fanconi Anemia gene mutations in the development of sporadic acute myeloid leukaemia. He held a Consultant post at Great Ormond Street Hospital, then moved to McGill University, Montreal in 2005 for six years before coming to Cambridge. Much of his research has been on the Fanconi Anemia genes and hereditary breast cancer predisposition but his interests cover all areas of medical genetics and translating the recent advances in genomic technology into clinical practice. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the BJC Reports and a founding member of the PALB2 interest group. Formerly, he was Chair of the UK Cancer Genetics Group and an executive member of the European Reference Network GENTURIS for hereditary cancer syndromes. His clinical work covers all areas of Cancer Genetics, in particular breast and ovarian cancer.

Michelle Ferris

Retired General Practitioner | Clinical Tutor at UCL Hospital | Founder of Befriend Your Boobs Programme

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Dr Ferris was a General Practitioner at Lane End Medical Group, and is currently a Clinical Tutor at University College London Hospital, with an Honorary contract in Cancer Genetics at the Institute for Cancer Research. Having qualified from UCL Medical School, and completed vocational training at Ealing Hospital, Dr Ferris has gained over 35 years’ experience working as a GP. Within her practice, of which a third of patients are Jewish, she noted a high incidence of breast cancer cases and carried out Practice-based research assessing breast cancer incidence across patient age groups, their lifestyle and their genetic susceptibility and ethnicity. Following on from this research, Dr Ferris and her colleagues developed the Befriend Your Boobs (BYB) – a breast cancer prevention initiative educating young women about their cancer risks, based on interplay between their genetics and lifestyle, and providing practical information and tools for better risk management. The BYB programme has been delivered by a collaborative of doctors, nurses, and teachers to over 10,000 female sixth form students across 20 educational venues , as well as being presented internationally. Based on NICE Guidelines, BYB was a Finalist project in the British Medical Journal awards, 2020.

Mark Emberton

Professor of Interventional Oncology UCL | Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL | Honorary Consultant Urologist at UCL Hospitals | Founding pioneer of Prostate Cancer UK

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Mark is Professor of Interventional Oncology within the Division of Surgery and Dean of the Faculty of Medical Science at University College London. He is clinically active and holds the position of Honorary Consultant Urologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust where he works as a specialist in prostate cancer. His academic work has focused on developing novel diagnostic strategies and new therapies for men with prostate cancer. His research has resulted in the transformation of both the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways. These have been incorporated into international guidelines. He has published over 500 peer review papers, holds a large grant portfolio, and lectures widely around the world and holds international honorary professorships. He is a founding Pioneer of the charity Prostate Cancer UK.

Kelly Kohut

Lead Consultant Genetic Counsellor, South West Thames Centre for Genomics, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | NIHR Mid-Career Fellow, Exeter BRC (Biomedical Research Centre), University of Exeter| General Secretary, European Hereditary Tumour Group | Scientific Board Member, Prospective Lynch Syndromes Database | Former Chair of the Lead Genetic Counsellor Group for the UK and Ireland

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Kelly Kohut leads the genetic counselling service for the South West Thames Centre for Genomics, a regional clinical genetics service responsible for a population of approximately 4 million people across South West London, Surrey and West Sussex. She completed her BSc (Honours) in 2001 Biology at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Kelly worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto in 2001-2002. She completed her MSc in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College in New York in 2002, then worked at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center before relocating to London in 2007. Kelly coordinated two national breast cancer genetic research studies, GLACIER and ICICLE, based at Queen Mary, University of London with over 100 recruiting sites across the UK. She worked at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust from 2007-2016, specialising in follow-up care and research for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Kelly started at St George’s as a Principal Genetic Counsellor before becoming the Lead Consultant Genetic Counsellor. From 2020-2025, Kelly completed a PhD in Health Sciences at University of Southampton. Her project involved in-depth research combined with extensive PPIE (patient and public involvement and engagement) as part of the larger CanGene-CanVar catalyst programme funded by Cancer Research UK. Kelly codesigned a patient-facing website called Lynch Choices (https://canchoose.org.uk) with patients, charities and other experts. Lynch Choices is a trusted, central source of information for Lynch syndrome carriers that contains theory-based decision aids regarding choices for inherited cancer risk management. Kelly started an NIHR Mid-Career Fellowship in 2025, dividing her time between research activities and clinical practice in the NHS. Her research interests include genetic counselling, personalised cancer risk communication, shared decision-making, PPIE and codesign of patient and professional resources and care pathways. Kelly is registered with the Genetic Counsellor Registration Advisory Board (GCRAB 278), part of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS, 17029) register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. She is a supervisor, mentor or advisor for several research projects by genetic counselling students, other trainees and healthcare professionals. She regularly completes peer review for scientific journal and professional review for patient resources produced by charities and other public bodies.

Joanna Franks

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Joanna Franks is a consultant breast and oncoplastic surgeon, practising both at UCLH and privately. Her area of expertise is the assessment and management of all conditions relating to the breast, encompassing both benign and malignant disease. Her interests include the detection of early breast cancers, oncoplastic breast conservation, mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, risk reduction and breast screening. Joanna qualified from Imperial College with honours. She took a year out to complete research, funded by the Medical Research Council, which resulted in a first-class BSc in pathology with basic medical science. Joanna is passionate about the assessment and training of medics and has completed an MSC in Medical Education. She standard sets both for University College London and the Royal Free Medical School and is a regular examiner at both institutions. She also works with the General Medical Council, item writing and standard setting as part of Fitness to Practice and as one of their Medical Assessors. She is also a professional reviewer for Macmillan Cancer Support Documents. Joanna was a Pan London Breast Hub Co-ordinator during the regional response to Covid19. This involved ensuring safe treatment pathways to maintain time critical breast cancer surgery with the reintroduction of complex and reconstructive surgery at the earliest opportunity. Joanna is a trustee of Future Dreams – a charity dedicated to raising funds for support, awareness and research for those affected by breast cancer. She is a medical patron of the charity Chai and works with them and Jnetics to roll out the National Jewish BRCA testing programme. She also works with Acheinu, helping the Jewish community to manage their breast cancers. Joanna is a governor of South Hampstead School and an advocate of the Befriend Your Boobs programme in the wider school’s community

Meet our advisors

Professor Ranjit Manchanda

Professor of Gynaecological Oncology & Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at QMUL* and Barts Health NHS Trust; Lead at Barts Health Women’s Precision Prevention service; Co-lead at the Cancer Screening, Prevention and Epidemiology Unit at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, QMUL.  

Professor Ros Eeles

Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute OF Cancers Research (ICR) And Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology and Oncogenetics at The Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH).

Tracie Miles, RGN PHD

Gynaecology cancer nurse specialist and genomics practitioner at Bath Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as well as Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the South-West Genomic Medicine Service Alliance.

Professor Marc Tischkowitz

Professor and Honorary NHS Consultant in the Department of Medical Genetics at Cambridge.

Meet our trustees

Stephen Deitch BPharm

Senior consultant in the Life Science Sector, with over 35 years’ experience as a pharmacist, NHS healthcare manager and executive, and strategy consultant to Life Science industry partners.

Professor Jonathan Ledermann,

Professor of Medical Oncology at the UCL Cancer Institute and a Consultant Medical Oncologist at UCL Hospitals specialising in treatment and research of gynaecological cancers.

Paul Israel

Chartered accountant and financial consultant that works primarily in the hotel and property sectors and is an experienced charity Trustee.

Caroline Presho

Extensive experience campaigning for BRCA awareness, and as patient advocate, speaker, peer support volunteer and clinical trial patient representative.

Joel Davis

Digital marketing consultant and serial entrepreneur who founded and sold Mighty Social, Europe’s first social media agency.  

Liz Avital

Independent healthcare development consultant, who has spent the last 20 years in UK & global health and social care development, focusing on advancing patient care and developing healthcare infrastructures that are both robust and sustainable.

Katrina Jacobs-Sarig

Executive Director & Founder

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

Aviva Lewis

Research & Development Manager

As an experienced research and development manager, Aviva is helping to develop our core information and signposting resource as well as supporting other projects .    

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Meet our trustees

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Meet our advisers

Professor Ranjit Manchanda MD, MRCOG, PhD 

Professor Manchanda is a Professor of Gynaecological Oncology & Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at QMUL* and Barts Health NHS Trust; Lead at Barts Health Women’s Precision Prevention service; Co-lead at the Cancer Screening, Prevention and Epidemiology Unit at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, QMUL; and Honorary Professor at the Department of Health Services Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  

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His research interests are focused on Targeted Precision Prevention. This includes population-based genetic testing, mainstreaming genetic testing and precision medicine approaches for risk prediction, stratification, targeted screening and targeted cancer prevention, along with health economic issues related to these areas of research.  Professor Manchanda led the GCaPPS (Genetic Cancer Prediction through Population Screening) trial on BRCA testing in the UK Ashkenazi Jewish population, received an NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellowship award for this in 2019, leading to the NHS Jewish BRCA programme. He leads the PROTECT-C general population testing study along-with number of other studies related to genetic testing and cancer prevention, such as, DETECT-2, PROTECTOR, OVACATCH, PRESCORES, SECRETS, UKCOGS, etc.  He is the Topic Advisor (Clinical Lead) for the NICE guideline NG241 on Familial Ovarian cancer and a Commissioner for Lancet commission on Ovarian Cancer. He has received numerous national and international awards and has published and lectured widely on topics related to both his academic research and clinical work. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

More+–

After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 

Stephen Deitch BPharm (Hons) MRPharmS

Katrina has extensive research, service development and charity management experience, particularly in the areas of genetic education and screening in high-risk communities.

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After working in a behavioural risk management company, Katrina founded Jnetics in 2009 – a charity dedicated to improving the prevention and management of Jewish genetic disorders. As their Executive Director, she managed the development and delivery of initiatives that helped transform awareness and access to recessive carrier screening in the UK Jewish Community.  Katrina left Jnetics in 2020 to start the Jewish Hereditary Cancer Review (JHCR) – a research project with Prof. Ranjit Manchanda and his team at QMUL. JHCR explored BRCA-related awareness, on-line information provision, and carrier testing experience across Jewish people in the UK.  Two research papers from the JHCR are published in the BJOG and Cancer journals. While working at the QMUL Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis (where she remains an Honorary Research Fellow), Katrina joined the NHS expert advisory group for the JewishBRCA programme and became involved in a Hereditary Cancer patient collaborative. These experiences collectively highlighted the gap in reliable and accessible hereditary cancer information and support, motivating her to establish Cancestry in 2024. 