Professor Brian Lobel, Professor of Theatre and Performance at Rose Bruford College, has been named one of 9 new Health & Wellbeing Churchill Fellows, recognising his pioneering work exploring how arts and culture can support people living with and beyond cancer.
The Fellowship with project entitled Rethinking Cancer Rituals: Learning from US Practices to Improve Patient Transitions in the UK, will take Professor Lobel to the USA and Mexico, where he will explore international approaches to post-cancer care and life transitions, and bring insights back to inform practice, research and teaching in the UK.
Professor Lobel is an Emeritus Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow, and co-founder of The Sick of the Fringe and community project Sex with Cancer. For more than 20 years he has worked alongside people living with and beyond cancer and other serious illnesses through research, performance and public engagement.
The Churchill Fellowship follows Professor Lobel’s recent British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship, supporting research into the role of performance and ritual in experiences of serious illness. His forthcoming book, Sex with Cancer, will be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishing, an imprint of Hachette, in 2027.
Talking about his award, Brian said:
“I am humbled by the recognition of my work, and over-the-moon when I think of the opportunity.
More than three million people in the UK live with and beyond cancer, yet many experience a sharp drop-off, the ‘cancer cliff’, in psychosocial support once treatment ends. Rates of anxiety and depression remain up to 50 per cent higher than the general population. We might expect such outcomes, but we should not accept them.
Beyond the bellringing, the marathon running, or the post-chemo haircuts, I’m pursuing cultural and artistic solutions to support patients and those who care for them after treatment ends.
By supporting this work, The Churchill Fellowship acknowledges the centrality of patient voice to healthcare and to cancer research – it’s a critical endorsement, and one I take very seriously.”
Established in 1965 as the living legacy of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Fellowship enables UK citizens to explore innovative solutions overseas and bring new knowledge back to benefit communities across the UK.
Those who receive the Fellowship become part of a global network of Churchill Fellows working on the front line of today’s most pressing issues, developing new approaches informed by international research and practice.
Professor Lobel’s Fellowship reflects Rose Bruford College’s growing reputation for socially engaged, practice-based research that creates meaningful impact beyond higher education.
Across the College, researchers are advancing work in areas including immersive performance, accessible technologies, and creative learning for children and young people, demonstrating how creative research can improve lives and strengthen communities.