Professor Helen McNair

Biography

Professor Helen McNair is the lead research radiographer at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Reader in Translational Therapeutic Radiography at The Institute of Cancer Research, London. She is also a HEE/NIHR senior clinical lecturer, awarded in 2019.

She trained at the Northern Ireland School of Therapeutic Radiography in 1986. After working in Australia for two years, she returned to the UK and worked in the Westminster Hospital (now a part of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital) and subsequently at The Royal Marsden from 1990. During that time she was a treatment radiographer and then worked in pre-treatment where she gained extensive experience in patient reproducibility and motion in radiotherapy.

Professor McNair moved to Sutton in 2000 to commence her role as research radiographer and completed a MSc in 2001 and PhD in 2011. Her main area of research is the translation of novel radiotherapy technologies into clinical practice. This has involved investigating the efficacy and efficiency of intensity modulated radiotherapy and image guided radiotherapy. The aim of the current HEE/NIHR grant is to deliver radiotherapy using real-time treatment planning, by redeploying the radiotherapy workforce to create an optimal patient pathway.

She has contributed to Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) national guidelines. Professor McNair also co-chaired the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group (NRIG) Image Guided Radiotherapy Group which created guidance on the role and use of IGRT. She has also co-chaired the subsequent update.

Helen enjoys running and is an avid member of Park Run. She also loves cooking and gardening.

Professor McNair is a member of the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre, which brings together leading researchers in engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medicine to develop innovative ways to address challenges in cancer.

Convergence Science Centre