Dr Nicola Hughes has recently celebrated two major milestones: obtaining her PhD and beginning an NIHR-funded Academic Clinical Lectureship in teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer and sarcoma care. Her role is split between the University of Leeds and St James’s University Hospital (SJUH), where she combines clinical work with academic research to improve outcomes for young people with cancer. “I really do love my job. On the clinical side, I find it a real privilege to be involved in a patient’s care and be able to get to know the patients, their families and their friends, and to help them through treatment. From the research side, I really enjoy being part of the fantastic research community. Everyone has the same aim of improving cancer care and outcomes for our patients. It’s really exciting to see new research findings emerge, both from other research groups and from our own findings.” “Being awarded my NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship was a real highlight,” she says. “It was incredibly competitive and something I worked hard on during maternity leave – often with my daughter asleep beside me in meetings! I’m so grateful to Candlelighters and the Yorkshire Specialist Register of Cancer in Children and Young People for their support.” Nicola’s research focuses on using healthcare data to improve cancer care. Her PhD explored how treatment information from clinical trials compares to real-world data, with a particular focus on germ cell tumours in adolescents and young adults. Her PhD paper was recently published and provides important insights into data quality and consistency in national cancer records. In 2024, Nicola presented her work at both the British Sarcoma Group Conference and the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), continuing to advocate for evidence-based improvements to cancer care. A key part of her work is ensuring that patients and families are involved in shaping the research agenda. “It’s important to me that the questions we’re asking reflect what really matters to young people with cancer and their loved ones,” she explains. Despite her busy academic and clinical life, Nicola finds time to enjoy the outdoors with her three young daughters. “There’s not a lot of spare time,” she admits, “but when I’m off, we love getting outside, going swimming, and cycling together.” Nicola’s career continues to grow from strength to strength, and Candlelighters is proud to have played a part in supporting her research journey. Her work is helping to ensure that the voices of young people with cancer are heard, and that the data we use leads to better, fairer outcomes for all. 
Nicola first came to Leeds in 2002 to study medicine and has remained in Yorkshire ever since. Her passion for research was supported early on by Candlelighters, who funded the first year of her research fellowship. That support helped her secure further funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to complete her doctoral studies. 
