We are funding an assistant psychologist in the paediatric neuro-oncology department at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Please let us introduce Alex Hagan, who completed his MSc at Newcastle University before working in neurology at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and in neuro-oncology at Alder Hey and GNCH.

Alex has experience of providing young children and their families with emotional support following diagnosis, as well as assessing cognitive abilities following treatment.

Alex’s current research interests include the role of medication in preserving attentional functioning following childhood brain injury, quality of life following brain tumour, and treatments for fatigue following brain injury.

The work Alex will be focusing on will be looking at the the attention difficulties that impact on social and academic functioning for children surviving brain tumours. He will carefully measure these attention difficulties and make recommendations on how best to address them.

Other work will include exploring emotional difficulties experienced by siblings to tailor effective support for them, understanding the influence of Posterior Fossa Syndrome on survivors quality of life, and exploring gaps in research to ensure the quality of care for children with brain tumours and their families continues to improve.