Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani has been officially appointed as the new Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK, taking on a prominent and influential leadership role in shaping the charity’s clinical research strategy and spearheading efforts to radically improve cancer treatment and patient care.
In her new position, Professor Jamal-Hanjani will guide the organization’s overarching clinical research objectives, leveraging her extensive expertise to drive forward innovative approaches in oncology. Her appointment marks an important transition for the charity as it continues to fund and support pioneering studies aimed at transforming how the medical community understands and fights the disease.
Alongside her new responsibilities at Cancer Research UK, she serves as a Professor of Cancer Genomics and Metastasis at University College London (UCL). She is widely recognized on an international scale as a leading researcher specializing in the complex mechanisms of how cancer evolves, spreads throughout the body, and develops resistance to conventional medical treatments.
Her academic and clinical work has centered on major, high-impact studies investigating lung cancer. Through this extensive research, she has helped the global scientific community gain critical insights into how tumors change over time and why certain types of cancer become increasingly difficult to treat as the disease progresses. These insights are considered vital for paving the way toward more personalized, targeted treatments that can ultimately lead to better survival rates and long-term outcomes for patients.
The leadership transition has drawn praise from key figures within the scientific and medical research community. Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, welcomed Professor Jamal-Hanjani to the role by highlighting her impressive track record of leading high-performing research teams.
Reflecting on the appointment, Michelle Mitchell noted that Professor Jamal-Hanjani brings deep experience in delivering radical new insights into the dynamic nature of cancer. She emphasized that understanding how cancer changes as it grows, spreads, develops resistance to treatment, and sometimes returns is one of the greatest challenges in modern oncology, making her expertise invaluable to the charity’s mission.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the new role, Professor Jamal-Hanjani spoke about the profound privilege of stepping into the position. She noted that Cancer Research UK holds an extraordinary track record of turning foundational scientific discoveries into tangible, real-world benefits for patients across the country and beyond. Having the opportunity to help shape that ongoing mission, she explained, is a responsibility she approaches with deep dedication.
Furthermore, she emphasized her ambition to accelerate the translation of laboratory research into improved clinical outcomes for individuals facing a cancer diagnosis. In discussing the pathway from scientific discovery to patient care, Professor Jamal-Hanjani highlighted the National Health Service (NHS) as a major asset, serving as a vital bridge that connects cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs directly with the patients who need them most.
Professor Jamal-Hanjani officially assumed her new responsibilities as Chief Clinician in October 2026. She succeeds Professor Charles Swanton, who held the prominent position since 2017 and steered the charity through a significant period of clinical discovery and research advancement.