Biography
Since completing my PhD in 2020, my research has focused on exploring the public perspectives of different policies for cancer screening (e.g. risk stratification) and cancer risk assessment. I also work on closely related topics such as communication needs, ethicality, impact and implementation. For some studies, I focus on a specific cancer type (e.g. bowel cancer) and others consider cancer more generally. I am currently working on a number of different projects that I lead myself, or are being led by our team or collaborators at other universities. I am a mixed methods researcher and use qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups and community juries), quantitative methods (surveys and discrete choice experiments [DCEs]) and systematic reviews. I work with students at different stages of their academic careers through teaching, supervision and admissions. I also co-lead the Medical Student Systematic Review Group.
Research
Acceptability and impact, cancer screening, communication with the public, public perspectives towards healthcare policies, risk assessment, risk stratification.
Publications
Dennison RA, Clune RJ, Tung J, et al. The public are receptive to risk-based innovations: A multi-methods exploration of anticipated acceptability and uptake of novel technologies for cancer early detection in symptomatic and asymptomatic scenarios. Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society. 2025;3:1522609. doi: 10.3389/fcacs.2025.1522609.
Dennison RA, Thomas CV, Morris S, Usher-Smith JA. A discrete choice experiment to understand public preferences and priorities for risk-stratified bowel cancer screening programmes in the UK. Preventive Medicine. 2023;177:107786. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107786.
Dennison RA, Usher-Smith JA, John SD. The ethics of risk-stratified cancer screening. (Current Perspective). European Journal of Cancer. 2023;187:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.03.023.
Taylor LC, Dennison RA, Griffin SJ, et al. Implementation of risk stratification within bowel cancer screening: A community jury study exploring public acceptability and communication needs. BMC Public Health. 2023;23:1798. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16704-6.
Taylor LC, Hutchinson A, Law K, Shah V, Usher-Smith JA, Dennison RA. Acceptability of risk stratification within population-based cancer screening from the perspective of the general public: A mixed methods systematic review. Health Expectations. 2023;26(3):989-1008. doi: 10.1111/hex.13739.
Teaching and Supervisions
I am regularly involved in supervising students (medical students on SSC placements, MPhil students and PhD students).
Other Professional Activities
Becky is funded by a Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme Pump Priming award and National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research bridging funding.
