RareCan places patients and data at the heart of research, including the discovery of better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat rare cancer.
Our Values
We are an organisation that exists to improve outcomes for people with rarer forms of cancer and everything we do is governed by our core values.
Empowerment
We believe that by empowering our members we can increase their chances of survival
Collaboration
We work right across the healthcare system in order to improve standards of treatment
Transformation
We believe that the healthcare system needs evolve in order to transform patients’ chances of survival
Hope
We believe that courage is contagious and hope can take on a life of its own
Commitment to improving outcomes
We created RareCan because we had first-hand experience of rare cancer believe that research trials are a force for good
How does RareCan improve clinical trial opportunities for rare cancer patients?
We believe that people with rare cancer have the right to live better, longer lives.
We make this happen by bringing people together to create opportunities to accelerate research.
Our team
Andy Hall
Chief Scientific Officer
Andy retired from Newcastle University in 2016. After qualifying in medicine, he specialised in haematology before moving to laboratory-based research in childhood leukaemia. He was the Director of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and has served as a non-executive director for the Human Tissue Authority. He is currently on leave of absence as the chair of an NHS Research Ethics Committee.
Claire Heron
Non-Executive Director
Claire was the Project Manager for the MRC/EPSRC-funded Newcastle Molecular Pathology Node. Claire has been a professional project manager for over 16 years and brings diverse experience from a range of environments including NHS, Higher Education and Local Government. She specialises is the delivery of projects in complex and challenging environments
Piers Kotting
Chief Executive Officer
Piers was a Research Delivery and Programme Director at the National Institute for Health Research. He is an alumnus of the NHS Innovation Accelerator and Gateway to Leadership rogrammes, and an Honorary Associate Professor of Healthcare Innovation and Commercialisation at the University of Exeter. Piers has an MBA and previous start up and managerial experience in the private sector.
Simon Allocca
Chief Financial Officer
Simon has 30 years’ experience in banking, spanning Capital Markets, Corporate Coverage, Risk and Investment Banking Business. Most recently, he was Managing Director, and Global Head of Industrials and Manufacturing at Lloyds Banking Group from 2011 to 2019. Simon is currently a Non-Executive Director at CBM plc and he is also a Board member of Digital Identity Net, a fast growing Fintech company.
Amanda Gibbon
Non-Executive Chair
Amanda is a non-executive director of Whittington Health NHS Trust and an associate non-executive director of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. She has extensive experience of lay involvement and governance within the NHS and public sector, having been a governor of UCLH NHS Foundation Trust for nine years, where she continues to chair both the trust’s Organ Donation Committee and the UCL/UCLH Biobank Ethical Review Committee. She was a Member of the Human Tissue Authority from 2014 to 2021 and a member of the UK Donation Ethics Committee until it was wound up in 2016. She is a lay member of NHS Blood and Transplant’s National Organ Donation Committee and chair of the steering committee for the UK CRC Tissue Directory and Co-ordination Centre as well as a trustee of various charities and a magistrate.
Anita Cooper
Non-Executive Director
Anita is a recognised leader within the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. With over 30 years’ global business experience, Anita has worked across diverse functions, skill levels and geographies, including strategy development and implementation, risk management, operations and technology-enabled process transformation across the world.
Deborah Copland
Communications Manager
Debs has over 20 years’ experience of communications, marketing and project management within the retail sector including Marks and Spencer, Home Retail Group and Monsoon Accesorize. She has a breadth of experience engaging with key stakeholders across challenging programs of change, and brings with her enthusiasm every step of the way.
Steven McGurk
Digital Marketing Officer
Steve is a digital marketing expert who specialises in search engine optimisation and online advertising. Before joining RareCan, Steve worked as a consultant and at marketing agencies in the UK, Belgium and Singapore for clients across a wide variety of sectors.
Phoebe Lee
CRM & Automation Officer
Phoebe is a CRM Consultant and Automation Architect who specialises in automative solutions to organisation challenges. Prior to joining the team, Phoebe was a charity Director and a Head of Digital Solutions. This experience equipped her as a specialist in implementing CRM systems with a strong focus on impact and community engagement.
Mary Richards
Community Development Officer
Mary has over 20 years’ experience in helping adults communicate more effectively in all kinds of situations and workplaces. She has used these skills in working with small charities, universities and large multi-national organisations, exploring ideas and tools to best help effective, difficult conversations.
Over the last three years she has used these skills to grow supportive networks for two small community interest companies, working with families and young children facing poverty and isolation.
Warren Raye
Partnership Development Lead
Warren is an academic publishing professional and former research scientist, who advocates for openness in science. For more than 20 years he has been involved in the publishing, higher education, and research sectors, working across Australia, Japan, China and the UK in diverse roles, such as ‘Chief Scientific Advisor’, ‘Head of Outreach & Partnerships’, ‘Senior Publisher’, ‘Senior Editor’ and ‘Presenter’. He has experience in mentoring and leading teams, stakeholder relationship management, business development, devising and launching novel publishing concepts, managing journal portfolios, and content creation. Warren is currently at Cambridge University Press, a not-for-profit publisher, as Executive Commissioning Editor for the Cambridge Prisms and Research Directions.
Hannah Ferris
Office Administrator
A recent graduate from Newcastle university, Hannah joined RareCan to put into practise what she has learnt from her studies.
Whilst studying for her degree, Hannah worked at a covid lab and saw first hand the important work being done and the need for everyone to work together within new scientific developments.
As well as helping with the day to day running of the team, Hannah thrives on helping our members and finding the right treatment for them.
Becky Dodds
Business Process Manager
Becky is our Business Process Manager, bringing her experience in service design and agile business analysis to RareCan. Becky’s background is in Local Government, where she developed her expertise in the design and implementation of digital first services.
Tejal Jain
Social Media Officer
A third-year marketing and management student, Tejal got interested in Rarecan as she had previously attended a session by researchers talking about the difficulties of commercialisation of cancer solutions. Coming from a non-medical field, she sees this as a chance to be involved in a small way towards improving outcomes for people diagnosed with rare cancers.
She’s excited about expanding Rarecan’s reach across different social media platforms using a variety of new and relevant content.
Katrina Copland
Community Development Administrator
Working at RareCan is both insightful and rewarding, I’ve always had a passion for helping others and my role here allows me to do this on a daily basis! The team are so welcoming and friendly towards both each other and our members. I’m part time, so when I’m not working, I attend my university and always make time for quality time with my friends!
Our team
Andy Hall
Chief Scientific Officer
Andy retired from Newcastle University in 2016. After qualifying in medicine, he specialised in haematology before moving to laboratory-based research in childhood leukaemia. He was the Director of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and has served as a non-executive director for the Human Tissue Authority. He is currently on leave of absence as the chair of an NHS Research Ethics Committee.
Claire Heron
Non-Executive Director
Claire was the Project Manager for the MRC/EPSRC-funded Newcastle Molecular Pathology Node. Claire has been a professional project manager for over 16 years and brings diverse experience from a range of environments including NHS, Higher Education and Local Government. She specialises is the delivery of projects in complex and challenging environments
Piers Kotting
Chief Executive Officer
Piers was a Research Delivery and Programme Director at the National Institute for Health Research. He is an alumnus of the NHS Innovation Accelerator and Gateway to Leadership rogrammes, and an Honorary Associate Professor of Healthcare Innovation and Commercialisation at the University of Exeter. Piers has an MBA and previous start up and managerial experience in the private sector.
Simon Allocca
Chief Financial Officer
Simon has 30 years’ experience in banking, spanning Capital Markets, Corporate Coverage, Risk and Investment Banking Business. Most recently, he was Managing Director, and Global Head of Industrials and Manufacturing at Lloyds Banking Group from 2011 to 2019. Simon is currently a Non-Executive Director at CBM plc and he is also a Board member of Digital Identity Net, a fast growing Fintech company.
Amanda Gibbon
Non-Executive Chair
Amanda is a non-executive director of Whittington Health NHS Trust and an associate non-executive director of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. She has extensive experience of lay involvement and governance within the NHS and public sector, having been a governor of UCLH NHS Foundation Trust for nine years, where she continues to chair both the trust’s Organ Donation Committee and the UCL/UCLH Biobank Ethical Review Committee. She was a Member of the Human Tissue Authority from 2014 to 2021 and a member of the UK Donation Ethics Committee until it was wound up in 2016. She is a lay member of NHS Blood and Transplant’s National Organ Donation Committee and chair of the steering committee for the UK CRC Tissue Directory and Co-ordination Centre as well as a trustee of various charities and a magistrate.
Anita Cooper
Non-Executive Director
Anita is a recognised leader within the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. With over 30 years’ global business experience, Anita has worked across diverse functions, skill levels and geographies, including strategy development and implementation, risk management, operations and technology-enabled process transformation across the world.
Deborah Copland
Communications Manager
Debs has over 20 years’ experience of communications, marketing and project management within the retail sector including Marks and Spencer, Home Retail Group and Monsoon Accesorize. She has a breadth of experience engaging with key stakeholders across challenging programs of change, and brings with her enthusiasm every step of the way.
Steven McGurk
Digital Marketing Officer
Steve is a digital marketing expert who specialises in search engine optimisation and online advertising. Before joining RareCan, Steve worked as a consultant and at marketing agencies in the UK, Belgium and Singapore for clients across a wide variety of sectors.
Phoebe Lee
CRM & Automation Officer
Phoebe is a CRM Consultant and Automation Architect who specialises in automative solutions to organisation challenges. Prior to joining the team, Phoebe was a charity Director and a Head of Digital Solutions. This experience equipped her as a specialist in implementing CRM systems with a strong focus on impact and community engagement.
Mary Richards
Community Development Officer
Mary has over 20 years’ experience in helping adults communicate more effectively in all kinds of situations and workplaces. She has used these skills in working with small charities, universities and large multi-national organisations, exploring ideas and tools to best help effective, difficult conversations.
Over the last three years she has used these skills to grow supportive networks for two small community interest companies, working with families and young children facing poverty and isolation.
Warren Raye
Partnership Development Lead
Warren is an academic publishing professional and former research scientist, who advocates for openness in science. For more than 20 years he has been involved in the publishing, higher education, and research sectors, working across Australia, Japan, China and the UK in diverse roles, such as ‘Chief Scientific Advisor’, ‘Head of Outreach & Partnerships’, ‘Senior Publisher’, ‘Senior Editor’ and ‘Presenter’. He has experience in mentoring and leading teams, stakeholder relationship management, business development, devising and launching novel publishing concepts, managing journal portfolios, and content creation. Warren is currently at Cambridge University Press, a not-for-profit publisher, as Executive Commissioning Editor for the Cambridge Prisms and Research Directions.
Hannah Ferris
Office Administrator
A recent graduate from Newcastle university, Hannah joined RareCan to put into practise what she has learnt from her studies.
Whilst studying for her degree, Hannah worked at a covid lab and saw first hand the important work being done and the need for everyone to work together within new scientific developments.
As well as helping with the day to day running of the team, Hannah thrives on helping our members and finding the right treatment for them.
Becky Dodds
Business Process Manager
Becky is our Business Process Manager, bringing her experience in service design and agile business analysis to RareCan. Becky’s background is in Local Government, where she developed her expertise in the design and implementation of digital first services.
Katrina Copland
Community Development Officer
If you would like to join a fast-paced startup and help accelerate research into rare cancer, please get in touch today!
Email us at careers@rarecan.com or view our current job vacancies at the button below.
About RareCan Limited
RareCan Limited is an organisation set up for the purpose of speeding up research and ultimately improving outcomes for people with rarer forms of cancer. We have adopted a legal structure that we believe achieves the right balance between providing an attractive investment opportunity to stimulate and maintain the financial backing required to set up and grow RareCan in a sustainable manner, as well as ensuring that we remain true to our purpose. Alongside this, we have plans to start a social benefit trust, which will be funded by the profits generated by RareCan to be fed back into the rare cancer communities we serve.
Our core values
RareCan Ltd will benefit members by enabling people to share, manage and protect their personal data. We believe that personal information is valuable, vulnerable and private. We are committed only to undertake activities which will contribute to the company’s stated purpose as set out in our Articles of Association and to ensure that any personal benefits are a by-product of the activities of the company.
As we grow we will work towards becoming a B Corporation. B Corporations are businesses that balance purpose and profit. They are required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment. B Corporations meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.
Company structure
RareCan Ltd is a company limited by shares registered in England, Company Number 12844377. Our shareholders are our directors, staff and investors that provide the capital needed to make RareCan a success. The company has a board of directors made up of the four founding directors and two non-executive directors.
Our business model
RareCan generates its income from researchers who use our platform. We charge a fee for access to the data we hold and the income this generates is then reinvested back into RareCan. These fees are determined by the type of research or project being undertaken, the data being requested to undertake that research or project and the nature of the funder of the research.
