Following a career in thoracic medicine, Vanessa Beattie joined the Lung Cancer Team at Aintree University Hospital, Liverpool, as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in 1999. Her interests in lung cancer and mesothelioma include improving the patient and carer experience throughout the pathway. She is interested in the development of nurse-led services, pre-/post-habilitation and survivorship issues.

She is an active member of the Northwest Lung Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) group. She has given invited presentations, both nationally and internationally, on various aspects of lung cancer, including wellbeing, holistic needs and surgical pathway. She has previously held the positions of Thoracic Surgical Group Chair and British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) Steering committee member. She is a current member of BTOG, International Thoracic Oncology Nursing Forum (ITONF) and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), sitting on the Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM) Coalition steering committee. She is also a National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) committee member, currently serving as Chair for the forum.