In addition to the usual mix of internal and external speakers, this year's event was also an opportunity to highlight the contributions of Professor Adrian Harris, one of the organisers of the event. Professor Harris founded the Oxfordshire Breast Clinic in 1989. The event marked his official retirement from the clinic and from the National Health Service. Professor Harris will continue to lead a research group in the Department of Oncology.
The Harris group works on tumour angiogenesis and the role of Notch signalling, and hypoxia biology and its regulation. The ultimate aim of the research programme is to develop ways to improve the treatment of breast cancer and other tumour types, by blocking the blood supply to tumours. Professor Harris' group is one of the several research teams from the Department of Oncology within the WIMM, whose research focuses on cancer research. The Regional Breast Cancer Academic Day was sponsored by Eisai, Pierre Fabre, Novartis, Pfizer and Synthon.