Welcome to our Learner Voices Series, where we hear from recent learners about their experiences at The Christie Institute for Cancer Education.
Meet Filipa Verdasca, Medical Oncology Resident at Unidade Local de Saúde de São José (Lisbon, Portugal) who completed an Obversership in Advanced Immunotherapy and Cell Therapy Team (AICT), supervised by Jon Lim.
We spoke with Filipa about her experience on our International Observership programme:
Can you give us a brief overview of your Observership experience at The Christie?
I completed a 9-week Clinical Observership at The Christie with the Advanced Immunotherapy and Cell Therapy Team (AICT) and the Experimental Cancer Medicines Team (ECMT). My aim was to gain a better understanding of how new therapeutic concepts are translated into early-phase clinical trials and ultimately delivered to patients.
Throughout the Observership, I attended outpatient clinics, ward rounds, team huddles, research meetings and multidisciplinary discussions. This allowed me to follow different stages of the patient pathway, from referral and initial assessment through trial screening, treatment and follow-up.
I was exposed to early-phase trials evaluating novel drugs and treatment combinations, including first-in-human studies. My time with the AICT gave me a valuable perspective on the additional scientific, clinical and logistical considerations involved in delivering personalised cellular therapies.
Overall, the Observership gave me a much clearer understanding of how an innovative idea is developed into a clinical trial and translated into a safe, carefully coordinated treatment pathway.
What aspects of your Observership did you find most valuable or impactful?
What I found most meaningful was seeing how early-phase research can create new possibilities for people with limited or no remaining standard treatment options, while also generating knowledge that may improve future care. In this context, a clinical trial can represent both a treatment opportunity and a contribution to progress in oncology.
I was particularly interested in the individualised process of assessing patients for clinical trials. The decision requires consideration of the patient’s overall condition, previous treatments, tumour biology, molecular profile, available alternatives and the rationale supporting the experimental therapy.
Within the AICT, following the cellular therapy pathway – from initial screening and cell collection through manufacturing, treatment preparation and subsequent monitoring – gave me a much clearer appreciation of the planning and coordination required to deliver these therapies safely.
I was also deeply impressed by the multidisciplinary teamwork at The Christie. Physicians, research nurses, trial coordinators, pharmacists, laboratory teams and many other professionals brought different areas of expertise to a shared objective. This demonstrated that successful innovation depends not only on the therapy itself, but also on communication, organisation and close collaboration across the entire team.
What key skills, insights, or perspectives will you carry forward in your future career?
This Observership has given me a more critical and practical understanding of early-phase clinical research. I gained insight into how innovative therapies are evaluated, how patients are selected for clinical trials and how new treatments can be safely incorporated into clinical care.
It also deepened my understanding of translational research as the connection between scientific discovery and meaningful clinical benefit. Beyond the scientific knowledge I acquired, I will carry forward the collaborative, carefully organised and patient-centred way of working that I observed at The Christie.
The experience confirmed my ambition to pursue a career combining patient care with clinical research. I hope to apply these lessons within my own institution by helping to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration and expand opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research.
One of the strongest impressions I will take with me is the shared commitment I witnessed across both teams. Despite their different roles, everyone was working towards the same purpose: providing patients with safe access to innovation and creating better treatment possibilities for the future.