EurocanPlatform WP 12 Part 1: Abinaya Rajan

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Abi Rajan joined the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in May 2011 after completing an EC funded Erasmus Mundas European Master’s degree in Sustainable Regional Health Systems and health related internships in Brussels, Basque Country and Madrid.

Employed as a researcher with the OECI, she is responsible for coordinating Part 1 of WP12 of the EurocanPlatform Project and a related PhD from the University of Twente. She is supervised by the OECI President, Prof. Dr. Wim van Harten.

Part-1 focuses on the development, testing and initial use of an Excellence Designation System (EDS) for Comprehensive Cancer Centres and Cancer Research Centres across Europe. This system will focus on the excellent performance of centers in Translational Research and Translational Medicine. Currently, Abi is conducting Round 1 of a Delphi Study with key stakeholders from the EurocanPlatform and the OECI to shape the EDS. Stakeholders include: clinicians, researchers, directors and patients’ organisations involved in Translational Research and Translational Medicine. She will follow up preliminary analysis of Round 1 with a general discussion at the Paris EurocanPlatform WP-12 Workshop held on 3 November 2011. The workshop is jointly organised by NKI and Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in France.

The latter are responsible for Part 2 of WP-12, which focus on metrics. Abi will then conduct a focus group for EurocanPlatform members to inform further steps of the research. In addition, she is exploring possible collaboration with National Cancer Institute, USA and other organisations that are responsible for similar designation systems.