Vicky Forster

Forster grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia aged 7.[1] She became interested in scientific research whilst at hospital, and went on to study biomedical science at the Durham University.[1][2] She graduated from Durham University in 2008.[3] Forster completed a PhD at Newcastle University with James Allan and Olaf Heidenreich.[1][4] On the day she finished her PhD, she tweeted, Dear Cancer, I beat you aged eight and now I’ve got a PhD in cancer research, which became a viral post.[5][6]

Forster used the media attention to praise where she worked, the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle upon Tyne.[5] Here she concentrated on leukemia caused by mutations in DNA.[5]

In 2014 Forster was a British Science Association Media Fellow.[7][8] That year, she spoke at TEDx Jesmond Dene about the legacy of Janet Rowley.[9] In 2015 she won the Communications and Brand Ambassador Prize from Cancer Research UK.[10] She appeared in the science communication project Soapbox Science.[11] Forster was a 2017 TED Global Fellow researching paediatric cancer.[12][13] Her TED talk, What can cancer survivors teach us about cancer treatment, was in Arusha, Tanzania.[14] She was listed in the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30[15] and was part of the BBC's 100 Women science week.[16] She has written for The Times, The Conversation, Forbes Health and The Guardian.[17][18][19][20] She is a member of the Society of The International Society of Paediatric Oncology.[21]

She completed her post-doc at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her research focussed on the rare genetic disorder biallelic mismatch repair deficiency.[22] She now works at Women's College Hospital, Toronto.[23]

• TED Fellow Dr Vicky Forster