A lifestyle coach who overcame a brain tumour diagnosed more than a decade ago is celebrating the launch of a new specialist brain cancer research centre.

Hampstead Garden Suburb resident Nicci Roscoe, 53, who underwent surgery after doctors discovered a golf-ball sized tumour in 2001, joined patients, scientists and charity workers for the launch of the new Research Centre of Excellence on October 30.

Following her impressive recovery from cancer, Ms Roscoe’s career as a lifestyle coach has gone from strength to strength. She has released her own book, toured as a motivational speaker and appeared regularly on TV and radio.

The mother-of-two said: “After my diagnosis I felt I’d been dealt two blows – having a brain tumour and a disease about which so little is known.

“Today is a hopeful day for me, a positive step forward which means others may not have to face the devastation which my family and I faced.

“I am proud to continue to support the great work of Brain Tumour Research. It is appalling to think that one in 50 people who die under the age of 60 are dying from brain cancer.”

The new centre is the result of a partnership between charity Brain Tumour Research and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in collaboration with the UCL Institute of Neurology.

John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, hosted the launch event at the centre’s base in the Blizard Institute, part of QMUL, in Whitechapel.

He said: “This is an historic moment for brain tumour research. Based on what they have achieved already, the prognosis is now brighter for patients and families affected by this terrible disease.

“But we can’t be complacent. Unlike many other cancers, brain tumour research does not benefit from general research. It is only through giving to charities funding laboratory-based research that all 120-plus types of brain tumour will be cured.”

The new centre is led by Prof Silvia Marino, a leading brain tumour scientist and neuropathologist from QMUL, and will specialise in identifying how tumours form and grow, with the final aim of identifying more efficient drug treatments.

Brain Tumour Research aims to invest £20million in developing treatments over the next five years.

Sue Farrington Smith, chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, said: “Today is a milestone for the research.

“Together we’re establishing a powerful new team of researchers who will share our ambition of creating a better future for those diagnosed and living with a brain tumour. We are all determined that one day we will find a cure.”

For more information about Brain Tumour Research, visit braintumourresearch.org