Cancer Research UK has announced the appointment of its new Chief Clinician, Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani. 

Professor Jamal-Hanjani is a clinician scientist, thoracic medical oncologist and Professor of Cancer Genomics and Metastasis at the UCL Cancer Institute. She has played has a leading role in the CTC-coordinated studies TRACERx and PEACE, and is internationally recognised for her work studying how cancers evolve, spread, and become resistant to treatment.

TRACERx, open since 2014, is one of the world’s most comprehensive studies of lung cancer evolution. Through their analysis, researchers are understanding more about how individual cancers develop, with the aim of identifying opportunities to intervene earlier and tailor treatment more closely to each patient.

Those taking part in PEACE have agreed to the donation of tissue samples after death, taken from both their cancer tumour and from normal tissue in other parts of the body. Using these, as well as a series of blood samples, researchers are learning more about how cancer develops and spreads, why treatment stops working, and how the body reacts in its final stages

More on Professor Jamal-Hanjani's appointment can be read below.