Professor Cherith Semple is a Professor in Clinical Cancer Nursing, in the Institute of Nursing and Health Research (INHR) at Ulster University which is a clinical academic appointment with South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SET).  She is an experienced clinical academic with over twenty years’ experience in clinical practice, education and research.   Cherith currently leads on two research programmes of work, namely, “Family-centred cancer care: Promoting positive coping when a parent of dependent children has cancer” and “Post-treatment quality of life issues for patients with head and neck cancer”.  She also leads Ulster University’s INHR Cancer Care Research Group. 

Cherith has an extensive publication profile with over 60 peer-reviewed publications (1200+ Scopus citations) in a range of academic journals, two Cochrane reviews, three book chapters and three commissioned reports. Prof Semple is an internationally recognised leader in cancer nursing and has been invited to deliver keynote presentations at key national and international events.

She has a successful history of grant acquisition, embodying collaborative working across institutional boundaries, to include healthcare trusts and Cancer Charities. This has led to the INHR Cancer Care Research Group, developing interactive eLearning resources to equip health and social care professionals to communicate on sensitive topics, such as telling dependent children about parental cancer (http://training.cancerfocusni.org) and providing cancer patients and partners with sexual support (https://talkingaboutsex-cancercare.org).  Further resources have been developed for health and social care professionals within the Family-centred cancer care programme of work. This includes a collaborative 10 top tips guide with colleagues at King’s College London and Marie Curie, to promote provision of supportive care to parents with a life-limiting illness in routine practice concerning their dependent children.  Based on empirical research from funded studies, ‘At diagnosis’ and ‘At end of life’ communication frameworks have been developed. These are systematic guides to support the provision of key conversations with parents impacted by cancer, concerning their dependent children. Prof Semple is currently a Principal Investigator on the Family-centred cancer care End of Life Education (FCCCEoLED) project, being funded by the competitive HEA North-South Research programme grant.   

Other achievements include RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year in 2015,  awarded a MBE in the Queen’s Honour List  in 2017, Nursing Times National Finalist in the cancer category in 2022 and British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists Lifetime Achievement Award.