On Thursday evening the towering entrance to Corpus Christi College on Trumpington Street was awash with pink light in support of families affected by brain tumours.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is running the Light up the UK campaign during March 2025 to bring to the fore the urgent need for more funding to find a cure for the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40.

Many other buildings will shine a light on their structures today, which is Wear A Hat Day, the UK’s main brain tumour awareness day. 

In 2024, the third year of the campaign, more than 50 public buildings and venues got involved including the iconic Liverpool Liver Building, Blackpool Tower and Warwick Castle, as well as many City/Town Halls, civic buildings, bridges and piers. Corpus was delighted to add its iconic Cambridge façade to this year’s list.

Corpus Fellow and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, Dr Sarah Fine spearheaded Corpus lighting up for the cause.

“I am thrilled that Corpus is participating in the ‘Light up the UK’ campaign in support of Brain Tumour Research. This is a positive and powerful way to draw attention to a cause that is very close to my heart. My father Jonathan Fine died from a brain tumour back in 1998. I am proud to champion this wonderful initiative in his memory, and in solidarity with all members of our community who have been affected by brain tumours.” Sarah adds, “Corpus is a natural fit for this campaign, as we are home to Dr Alexis Joannides, Fellow and Director of Studies in Clinical Medicine.” 

Dr Joannides is an academic consultant neurosurgeon at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and he specialises in the treatment of brain tumours and disorders of intracranial dynamics. He has a particular interest on improving clinical care pathways for reducing time to treatment for patients with a new diagnosis of brain cancer, and understanding the impact of brain tumours and their treatment on quality-of-life. Alexis echoes Sarah’s concern and keenness to bring forth the gravity of the lack of funding. 

“Most adult brain tumours have a devastating prognosis even with the best treatments available today. There is a great unmet need in this field for developing more effective therapies, as well as understanding which groups of patients can benefit most from individual treatment approaches.”

The charity reports that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.

After pancreatic cancer, brain tumours are the least survivable form of cancer. Just under 13% of brain tumour patients survive for more than five years, compared with an average of 56% across all cancers. Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

For more information and to support the charity visit:

https://braintumourresearch.org/