Alison Davies

My name is Alison Davies I have been nursing for 5 years. I trained in Cardiff and I have worked in Anaesthetics in Llandough Hospital and in Accident and Emergency Department in Worcester Royal. I returned to Cardiff and started my post as Tissue Co-ordinator with Wales Cancer Bank in January 2008.

I am based at Llandough Hospital and I currently co-ordinate the collection of Gynaecological, Colorectal and Thyroid cancer tissues from Llandough hospital and UHW and hope to extend this to other specialities in the future.

Being involved in this project has been very inspirational, the enthusiasm from the patients that consent to donate tissue even though they are experiencing a very difficult time is overwhelming. I am very proud to be involved in a project where there is potential for developing more effective treatment for cancer to be found.

Urology samples are also collected in UHW. Urology nurses, Sam Holliday, Loveness Chikopela and Clare Jones, consent patients at clinic appointments to collect prostate, bladder or kidney tissue that is surplus to diagnostic requirement following routine surgery.

Victoria Woods

Victoria Woods is the Senior Biomedical Scientist for the Wales Cancer Bank.  She is based at Velindre hospital and is responsible for ensuring the qualtiy of samples sent out from the WCB using the Mirax digital imaging system and overseeing the other WCB laboratories.  Her role at Velindre also involves the automated production, digital imaging and analysis of of TMA’s.