Aston University's Dr Jan Novak has accepted funding of £45,000 from cancer charity Help Harry Help Others (HHHO) to support a PhD student to research new ways of using MRI scans of children with cancer to better inform their doctors and improve treatment.
HHHO was set up by Georgie Moseley, in memory of her son Harry Moseley, who passed away from a brain tumor in 2011 aged 11, and raised more than £750,000 for cancer research by making bracelets. The charity provides free, immediate support to cancer patients and their families at its Birmingham drop-in centre, including professional counselling and financial guidance.
Georgie, together with her daughter Dani and charity trustees, presented a cheque to Dr Novak at a small event at Aston University on 8 October 2026.
Brain tumors are among the most serious illnesses faced by children, and those who survive may live with long-term physical, learning, memory and wellbeing difficulties. To plan treatment, doctors must work quickly to understand the type of tumor. They use MRI and other scans to guide them, but a final diagnosis often only comes after the tumor tissue is tested following removal.
The research of Dr Novak's HHHO-funded PhD student, once recruited, will have three main aims. First, the student will develop a computer model that can learn from existing scans and basic clinical details, such as age, symptoms and medical history, to help clinical teams identify the likely tumor type and prognosis.
Second, the student will make the approach practical for real hospital use, where not every child has every possible scan. This will include testing ways of handling missing information, so the tool remains useful even when the available data are incomplete.
Third, the student will work with clinicians to ensure that the tools created are useful and presented in a digestible manner for doctors, parents and patients.
The research will benefit greatly from the quantity and quality of the data available. The student will work with information from leading children's hospitals, including Birmingham Children's Hospital and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Together, these centres hold one of the largest collections of childhood brain tumor scans of its kind. This will give the student a unique opportunity to work on a project with genuine clinical relevance and strong potential to benefit children's care.
HHHO has long supported my career and has previously supported other studentships at Aston. It is wonderful to be able to make a difference to young lives and the research funded by HHHO will enable us to get cutting-edge research from the bench to the bedside."
Dr. Jan Novak, Aston University
Georgie said:
"To present the cheque and announce our commitment on the 15th anniversary of Harry's passing makes us very proud, and we only wish that, as a small charity, we could donate significantly more.
"We are thrilled to be able to support Jan and the team by sponsoring our latest PhD+ student as they strive to create faster diagnosis and prognosis for children with brain tumors. Brain tumors kill more young people under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet are the least funded and even though my son is not here, it infuriates me that brain tumors are on the rare cancer bill. We know the donation will create positive change, and we hope it raises awareness of the much-needed support brain tumor specialists and scientists need to continue their pioneering work, which in return will enable more hope to families with children with brain tumors in the here and now."
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