Cornish PhD Researcher to Run Edinburgh Marathon for Children’s Cancer Charity

Cornish Researcher Takes on Marathon for Children With Cancer

A PhD researcher from Portholland is preparing to take on the Edinburgh Marathon this spring, raising funds for a charity that supports children and young people affected by cancer.

Amelia Guest, 24, has decided to run the marathon in May in support of CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association, a charity focused on improving outcomes and treatments for young cancer patients.

Amelia, who is currently completing her PhD at Newcastle University, said her motivation came from both her studies and the research she now carries out.

Inspired by Research Into Childhood Cancer

Amelia first became interested in childhood cancer during her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University. During one of her modules, she learnt about the long term impact cancer treatment can have on children and young people.

She is now researching childhood medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Amelia and her colleagues are working with samples from clinical trials in an effort to identify biomarkers that could help determine different levels of risk among patients. The aim is to help doctors identify which children may respond better or worse to treatment.

This could allow medical teams to reduce treatment levels for low risk patients and limit the long term effects treatment can have.

Amelia explained:
“I’m interested in researching childhood cancer because of the impact of treatment on children. With medulloblastoma, for example, you see treatment causing cognitive defects or neurological issues, things that reduce quality of life for children, and even cause neuroendocrine deficiencies.”

She added:
“Children have the most life to live [after treatment], so childhood cancer research is not only about curing the disease, but it’s also about lessening the impact of treatment or the disease and making things better and improving that life for them.”

📷Amelia presenting her research at conference

Supporting a Charity That Backs Researchers

Amelia said she chose to support CCLG because of its work funding a wide range of research aimed at improving treatments for children and young people with cancer.

She also highlighted the charity’s Early Career Researcher Network, which brings together researchers at the start of their careers to share insights, access learning opportunities and receive guidance from experienced experts.

Amelia said:
“Not only does this charity do amazing work for children and young people with cancer and their families, but they also have a long-standing history of collaboration with research in Newcastle.

“It seems like a great charity to support because they support researchers like me, so it seems a great fit to be fundraising for CCLG.

“It brings [early career] researchers together. It’s nice to be able to talk about your research and experiences with people at a similar level, as it can be quite daunting.

“We’re all working to the same goal, whether that’s in medulloblastoma or leukaemia.”

📷Amelia lab pic

Preparing for the Edinburgh Marathon

The upcoming race will be Amelia’s second marathon. Her first took place in Sweden in 2024, but injuries have limited how much she has been able to run since then.

Amelia said:
“I love running but haven’t really run much since I did my first marathon in Sweden in 2024.

“I was injured, with my hip first and then my ankle. Even though I’ve not been able to start training as early as I’d have wanted, I’m finally getting to the stage I can start running pain-free.

“Training’s going well and I’ve joined the Collective Run Club in Newcastle, which has been good socially.

“It’s going to be fun.”

Anyone who would like to support Amelia’s fundraising can donate via her JustGiving page.

📷Amelia in CCLG running kit