Submitted by Irena Rao on Fri, 07/11/2025 - 16:58
Congratulations to Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald who received the Betty Macgregor Memorial Award at a showcase event on Thursday 6th November held at CRUK's Scotland Institute.
Rebecca, who is Director of the Early Cancer Institute and leads a research group focused on the prevention and early treatment of oesophageal cancer, was invited to give the Memorial Lecture at the event which also included a lunch with PhD students and Postdoc researchers and a poster and networking session.
The annual memorial showcase is named after Betty Macgregor who was a pioneer in the field of cervical cancer screening. Her work focused on taking, processing and interpreting cervical smears but critically also concerned how to translate this into the field leading to the first cervical cancer screening programme in Scotland.
As part of the showcase members of the institute invite and present an award to a woman who has made a significant impact in cancer research.
Professor Fitzgerald has been a pioneer in the field of oesophageal cancer research, leading her to devise, test, and implement the capsule sponge - a quick, simple, and inexpensive 'pill on a string' test to detect the condition called Barrett’s oesophagus, which can sometimes be an indicator of potential oesophageal cancer.
Rebecca's lecture was aptly titled 'A new approach to oesophageal cancer control: how long is a piece of string?'
Rebecca was honoured to receive this award and enjoyed her trip to Glasgow, which included a stop to a convenience store called 'Barretts'!