13 February 2026 | 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Join us for a special online event where you will hear from experts about a range of experiences, updates and the latest developments in clinical cancer genetics.
Our speakers are some of the foremost specialists in this field and the webinar will also give you an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have.
This webinar brings together three experts to address the central role of variant interpretation in modern cancer care, underpinning diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment selection, and use of targeted therapies.
Dr Alice Garrett will discuss: Principles and Challenges in Germline Cancer Variant Classification.
Dr Joanne Mason will outline: Best Practice for Interpreting Oncogenicity of Acquired Variants in Tumours.
Dr David McMahon will focus on: Challenges in Implementation of Germline and Somatic Variant Interpretation Guidelines When Dealing with Variants Ascertained Through Analysis of Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA).
Dr Terri McVeigh, Consultant Clinical Geneticist
Dr Alice Garrett
Dr Joanne Mason
Dr David McMahon
Dr McVeigh is a Consultant Clinical Geneticist in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, specialising in Cancer Genetics. She also holds an Honorary Associate Faculty position in the Institute of Cancer Research.
Dr McVeigh undertook undergraduate medical training, postgraduate core surgical training and Higher Specialist Training in Clinical Genetics in Ireland. Her specialist training was funded by the Health Research Board/Health Service Executive National Academic SpR Fellowship Programme, with research fellowships in Yale University, New Haven, USA, and in QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane Australia. She also undertook a Clinical Research Fellowship in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and subsequently took up a consultant post there in 2018.
She was awarded a PhD from National University of Ireland, Galway for her work investigating the translational applications of genomic profiling for risk estimation, prognostication and treatment of breast cancer. She also holds a Certificate in Medical Genetics (RCPath) and Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Science (NUI Galway).
Dr McVeigh has a special interest in teaching, and holds a Masters in Clinical Education. She now acts as a core tutor on the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Education in NUI Galway. She is also a core tutor of the Molecular Pathology of Cancer and Application in Cancer Diagnosis, Screening, and Treatment Module of the ICR -led MSc in Genomic Medicine (Imperial College London), and regularly supervises and examines postgraduate research projects.
Dr McVeigh keenly supports patient engagement and education. She developed and curates a patient information website (www.cancergenetics.ie). She is also a member of the medical advisory board of the Ovacome Ovarian Cancer charity in the UK.
She is a member of the Council and Social Media/Communications of the Cancer Genetics Group of the British Society of Genomic Medicine.
Dr David McMahon
Dr. McMahon is an RCPI qualified Medical Oncologist from our class of 2024 and genetics Fellow at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where his work focuses on the complex landscape of thoracic oncology, with a particular expertise in oncogene-addicted lung cancers, before undertaking a specialist clinical genetics fellowship. He has established himself as a key contributor to this field, with multiple influential publications exploring the biology and treatment of these genetically-defined cancers. A key part of his work involves translating genomic innovation into the clinic, most notably through his role coordinating the Lung Molecular Tumour Board during the pivotal rollout of NHS England's national liquid biopsy program for lung cancer. This practical experience, combined with his special interest in overcoming the challenge of brain metastases, places him in a unique position to discuss the real-world impact of precision oncology. His talk today will attempt to offer insights into how advanced tools like liquid biopsy are transforming patient pathways and outcomes.
Alice Garrett is a consultant in Cancer Genetics at St George’s Hospital, London. She is also an honorary clinical lecturer in the Translational Genetics team at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, where she works on variant interpretation in cancer susceptibility genes and chairs the Cancer Variant Interpretation Group UK (CanVIG-UK) and the CanVIG-UK Steering and Advisory Group (CStAG). She completed her PhD from the ICR in 2024 and also holds an MSc in Medical Education from the Royal College of Physicians/University College London.
Dr Joanne Mason
Joanne Mason is the Consultant Clinical Scientist lead for haemato-oncology genomics at West Midlands Genomics Laboratory in Birmingham, UK. Jo completed post-graduate Clinical Scientist training in 2000, was awarded a Diploma in Molecular Genetics by the Royal College of Pathologists in 2004 and was appointed a Fellow in 2010. Jo specialised in the emerging field of molecular genetic diagnostics for blood cancer early in her career, practicing in the UK and in New Zealand. She has a long-standing interest in quality, having authored a number of UK best practice and guideline papers, and having been a member of both the UKNEQAS LI Specialist Advisory Group (Molecular Haemato-Oncology) and NQAAP, and an expert advisor for GenQA. She is currently chair of the RCPath examiner panel for Molecular Pathology of Acquired Disease.
