A legacy of hope thanks to ‘determined and courageous’ rider who died aged 30

A “determined and courageous” event rider who died aged 30 has left a legacy of hope.

Miranda Filmer died in 2022, five years after her diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancer.

On what would have been her 33rd birthday, her parents joined leading scientists at a new research lab, dedicated to advancing treatment for rare and aggressive cancers and named after Miranda, at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Miranda carried on riding and competing after her diagnosis, and having already achieved a degree in geography, she started studying for a post-graduate degree, an equine master of science by research.

Her family set up the Miranda Filmer Fund in her name, which has raised over £500,000 for research on neuroendocrine tumours. These can develop in different areas of the body and often present at an advanced stage.

The fund has covered the cost of a PhD researcher and a laboratory technician, as well as laboratory equipment, to examine in more detail how cancer cells behave and interact with other cells.

Professor Martyn Caplin, who is joint-leading the study, said: “Miranda was a courageous and determined lady who lived life to the full, including competing in horse trials, until the very end of her too-short life. This is a wonderful tribute to her, as she was always looking to the now and the future. This laboratory will help not only neuroendocrine cancer patients but also patients with more common cancers.”

The Medical Research Council also awarded a grant to leading scientist Dr Pilar Acedo Núñez, which allowed the hub to buy advanced equipment to help identify new treatments and “bring hope to patients facing difficult diagnoses of neuroendocrine cancers”.

Krista Rombouts, the other joint leader of the project, said the new technology provides “unparalleled opportunities to create detailed 3D maps of molecules within tissue samples”.

“We will, for the first time, be able to map genes or proteins in their native location in the tissue and investigate how they interact with different cell types,” she said.

“This will help us understand more about the behaviour of the genes responsible for the development of neuroendocrine cancer and to decipher in great detail how tumours react to different medication, helping clinicians to personalise treatment and therapy plans for their patients.”

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