News & Stories
Spring 2026 Participant Newsletter
Meet Martina Brayley, a PhD student at the Generations Study
Martina Brayley joined ICR in 2023 as a research fellow and started her PhD in 2024 working with Professor Amy Berrington. She is a Registered Associate Nutritionist (AfN) and has an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Before joining ICR, she worked as a Senior Public Health Intelligence Analyst in the Department of Health and Social Care and as a Nutrition Scientist in Public Health England, evaluating evidence for policy development and public health interventions.
In her PhD, Martina is studying whether physical activity and obesity before and after a breast cancer diagnosis affect the chances of cancer coming back or survival. She is particularly interested in applying better methods to measure physical activity like physical activity monitors or measuring arm strength.
“Seeing the impact of cancer on people’s lives made me want to contribute to improving life after a cancer diagnosis, and that is why I joined the ICR. I feel very fortunate to use both my nutrition and epidemiology training in my research. I am grateful to the Generations Study participants for the data they contribute, and for their continued effort and engagement. Having lifestyle information from the series of questionnaires, along with physical activity monitor data (for some participants), is incredibly valuable.”
-Martina