Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani has been officially appointed as the new Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK, stepping into a prominent leadership role designed to shape the charity’s overarching clinical research strategy and spearhead national efforts to improve cancer treatment and patient care.
Bringing a wealth of academic rigor, clinical expertise, and pioneering research experience to the post, Professor Jamal-Hanjani is widely recognized as a leading authority in her field. She currently serves as a Professor of Cancer Genomics and Metastasis at University College London (UCL), where her cutting-edge investigations focus on the complex mechanisms of how cancer evolves, spreads throughout the body, and develops resistance to conventional medical therapies.
Her extensive academic background and hands-on clinical work have positioned her at the forefront of modern oncology. Over the course of her career, Professor Jamal-Hanjani has led major, high-impact studies investigating lung cancer, providing the scientific community with crucial insights into how tumors change and mutate over time. By decoding the evolutionary patterns of cancer cells, her research helps explain why certain types of cancer become increasingly difficult to treat as they progress. These foundational discoveries are vital for paving the way toward more precise, targeted treatments, ultimately aiming to deliver vastly improved survival rates and health outcomes for patients facing a cancer diagnosis.
The appointment has drawn widespread praise from leadership across the scientific and medical research communities. Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, welcomed Professor Jamal-Hanjani to her new position by highlighting her exceptional track record of driving collaborative, high-performing research teams.
Reflecting on the appointment, Michelle Mitchell said that Professor Jamal-Hanjani brings deep experience of leading high-performing research teams that are delivering radical new insights into how cancer changes as it grows, spreads, resists treatment, and sometimes returns. This level of expertise is expected to prove invaluable as the charity continues to fund and direct pioneering clinical trials across the United Kingdom.
Expressing her own thoughts on taking over the prestigious role, Professor Jamal-Hanjani emphasized her enthusiasm for the charity’s core mission and its historical impact on modern medicine. She noted that Cancer Research UK has an extraordinary track record of turning scientific discovery into real-world benefit for patients, and the chance to help shape that mission is something she feels deeply privileged to take on.
Furthermore, Professor Jamal-Hanjani emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the translation of laboratory research into tangible clinical outcomes for individuals living with the disease. In discussing her vision for the role, she highlighted the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) as a monumental asset, serving as a vital bridge that connects groundbreaking scientific discoveries directly with patients who stand to benefit from them most. Utilizing this integrated framework effectively will be a key priority as she guides the charity’s clinical research initiatives forward.
Professor Jamal-Hanjani officially commenced her duties as Chief Clinician in October 2026. In taking on the mantle, she succeeds Professor Charles Swanton, a distinguished clinician-scientist who held the position with distinction since 2017, guiding the organization through a period of significant scientific advancement and pivotal research breakthroughs.