New academic appointments to drive cancer epidemiology and prevention research

The School of Public Health has appointed two academics to further our research on cancer epidemiology and prevention.

The appointments will lead to further research breakthroughs at the Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit (CEPRU) – a joint initiative between Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, which has also appointed two new research leaders to work in the Centre.

Dr Marc Gunter has been appointed Professor and Chair in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. Dr Gunter has been serving as Head of the Nutrition and Metabolism Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialised cancer research agency of the World Health Organization (WHO).

He was previously a Reader in the School of Public Health (2011-2015) and had continued an association with the College as an honorary member of staff. Dr Gunter will take up the role from March 2023.

Dr Alicia Heath has also been appointed as Lecturer in Cancer Epidemiology. Dr Heath has been a Research Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 2018, after joining from the University of Oxford.

Both appointments will join the CEPRU, a joint initiative between Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR).

The Unit will build on the major and complementary strengths of the ICR, and Imperial’s School of Public Health, to address unmet challenges in cancer prevention research, identifying currently unknown causes of cancer and accelerating the translation of knowledge of cancer risk factors into effective primary prevention strategies.

It will bring together a critical mass of cancer epidemiologists, biostatisticians and population health scientists in Imperial’s School of Public Health with the ICR’s expertise in cancer epidemiology (especially in breast cancer), cancer biology and genetics, and oncologists.

Dr Marc Gunter said: “I am delighted to be re-joining the School of Public Health and further strengthening its programme of cancer epidemiology and prevention research. The new joint Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit is a truly exciting new initiative and I look forward to being at the heart of it, working closely with ICR colleagues to forge innovative new areas of research”.

Led by founding Director Professor Elio Riboli, the Unit will pave the way for cross fertilisation between the two institutes, drawing upon complementary strengths in research spanning from genetics to mechanisms of carcinogenicity, to the identification of novel targets for cancer prevention, and innovation in ways to deliver prevention and early detection of cancer.

Professor Riboli said: “The new Unit is the result of the growing and innovative collaborations in cancer research between Imperial College London and the Institute for Cancer Research that have already led to the establishment of the joint Cancer Convergence Science Centre.

“CEPRU will focus on research aimed at better understating the lifestyle, environmental and metabolic factors that contribute to causing cancer, as well as much needed translational research aimed at transferring current knowledge on modifiable cancer causes into effective primary and secondary prevention programmes and activities.

“I very much welcome the appointment of Marc and Alicia, as well as the parallel appointment of two senior colleagues at ICR, to build a strong cancer Unit with the ambition of developing effective cancer prevention strategies, both nationally and internationally.”

Institute of Cancer Research appointments

The Institute of Cancer Research has appointed Professor Amy Berrington and Professor Monserrat Garcia-Closas as new Team Leaders at the ICR’s Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, who will also work within the Unit.

Professor Amy Berrington said: “My research interests are closely aligned with the ICR’s goal to make smarter, kinder treatments. I was really attracted by the unique combination of experts and resources at the ICR, the Royal Marsden and Imperial that brings together world-leading scientists in epidemiology, clinical research and lab science.”

Professor Montserrat Garcia-Closas said: “I’m very pleased to rejoin the ICR and look forward to delivering on our ambitious aims in epidemiology and genetics – including via our joint research with Imperial to address some of the unmet challenges in cancer prevention research.”

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is a world-leading research institute with over 1000 scientific and professional staff. They are world leaders in identifying cancer genes, drug discovery and developing precision radiotherapy.

Professor Richard Houlston, Head of the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology at the ICR, said: “It has been great welcoming Professors Berrington and Garcia-Closas to the ICR, where they will work closely with Imperial colleagues at the CEPRU.

“I’m looking forward to working with them and strengthening our partnership with Imperial’s School of Public Health, to identify currently unknown causes of cancer and accelerating our knowledge of the risk factors and translating them into effective primary prevention strategies that will ultimately benefit people with cancer.”