Sarah Bailey

About me:

I am an academic working at the interface of primary care, cancer epidemiology, and health systems, with a focus on improving early cancer detection in real-world practice. 

My work centres on identifying and translating clinically actionable signals of cancer risk - particularly using electronic health record data - and ensuring these insight meaningfully influence clinical decision making, policy, and patient outcomes. A core theme to my programme of work is bridging the gap between evidence generation and implementation. 

I have experience of leading multi-disciplinary research teams, mentoring early- and mid-career colleagues, and working in close partnership with the UK National Health Service, commercial partners, and community groups. 

Alongside my academic work, I am actively engaged in international collaboration, public and professional education, and translational initiatives aimed at bringing research into practice at scale. My long term ambition is to build sustainable, globally relevant programmes of work in early cancer detection that combine scientific rigour, clinical relevance, and societal impact.

My work is supported by grants totalling over £9,000,000 from sources including the NIHR, Cancer Research UK, and the Department of Health's Policy Research Unit.

Selected Research Income

Identifying novel biomarkers for enhanced prediction and early detection of cancer. Co-applicant. Cancer Research UK Early Detection and Diagnosis Primer award. £71,000. 2023 - 2024

Supporting clinical decision making in patients with symptoms of cancer and pre-existing health conditions. Principal investigator. NIHR Advanced Fellowship. £758,158. 2022 - 2026

COLOFIT - Optimal use of Faecal Immunochemical Testing for patients with symptoms of possible colorectal cancer. Co-applicant and work package lead. NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme. £755,864.02. 2021 - 2023

Saving Lives: Improving the Early Diagnosis of Cancer using Platelet Count. Principal investigator. Philanthropic donation. £400,000. 2022 - 2025

Expediting cancer diagnosis in primary care: the Higgins programme. Principal investigator. Philanthropic donation. £243,750. 2021 - 2024

The SPOtting Cancer among Comorbidities (SPOC) study. Supporting clinical decision making in patients with symptoms of cancer. Co-applicant and Work Package lead. NIHR Programme Grant. £1,498,126. 2021 - 2026

Investigating ethnic differences in blood test results for suspected cancer in primary care. Co-principal Investigator. Cancer Research UK Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Grant. £136,365. 2021 - 2024

Covid-19: impact on recorded cancer incidence in England. Co-applicant. CanTest Internal Project award. £15,000. 2022

Improving cancer risk stratication using population based patient characteristics and cancer genotype. Co-applicant. GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. £75,000. 2022 - 2025

Evaluating ethnic differences in blood markers of cancer in primary care. Co-Principal Investigator. Cancer Research UK £136,365. 2021 - 2023

An investigation of the prevalence of mental health problems in parent carers in England and pathways to support and treatment. Co-applicant. NIHR Three Schools Mental Health Research Project Award. £283,486.

Determining the biological mechanisms driving racial disparity in prostate cancer using an interdisciplinary approach. Co-applicant. Wellcome Trust Seed Corn Funding. £25,594.84.

Evaluating ethnic differences in Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) for detecting prostate cancer in primary care. Co-Principal Investigator. NIHR School for Primary Care Research Project Award. £30,506.

Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying pre-diagnostic thrombocytosis in lung cancer patients and evaluating its diagnostic value. Co-applicant. GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. £75,000. 2019 - 2022

The risk of cancer with high normal platelet counts (NORMA). Co-applicant. Department of Health, Policy Research Unit (PRU) in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis. £131,699. 2018

A feasibility study of virtual reality as a therapeutic intervention in children with ambulatory cerebral palsy. Co-applicant. NIHR Research for Patient Benefit programme. £227,431. 2014 - 2016

Involving families in developing ideas for research, designing collaborative studies, seeking research grants and producing outputs directly useful to families. Co-applicant. Cerebra. £796,303. 2014 - 2019

Awards

• Royal College of General Practitioners Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award 2023 (winner)
• CanTest International School 2021: Most Helpful for Patients and Public (winner)
• Health Services Journal Value Awards 2020: Cancer Care Initiative of the Year (finalist)
• CanTest Travelling Fellowship (April 2019)
• Cancer Research UK Early Diagnosis Conference bursary (February 2019)
• Lead author of top rated paper in the British Journal of General Practice (2018)
• Lead author of Royal College of General Practitioner's Research Paper of the Year (Cancer) 2018
• The Cancer and Primary Care Research International Network conference poster prize (2017)
• South West Society for Academic Primary Care best junior abstract award (2016)
• University of Exeter EU Facilitation Fund (2016)
• Runner up patient poster prize, National Early Diagnosis Initiative conference, London (2015)

Prospective Students

I welcome enquiries from prospective students with interests in primary care research and cancer diagnosis. If you have a proposal that aligns with my research interests, please get in touch.

Interests:

• Developing risk assessment models for cancer detection in primary care
• Integrating genomics into primary care cancer assessment
• Evaluating and modelling the impact of new cancer detection strategies
• Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for colorectal cancer
• Using routine blood tests available in primary care to diagnose cancer

Observational data experience

• The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and linked datasets
• National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) data
• Purpose-built datasets for evaluation and research within the NHS
• Caerphilly Prospective Study

Qualifications:

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

PhD in Medical Science - University of Exeter

Masters of Public Health - Cardiff University

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science (Physiology) - Cardiff University