knighted for services to medicine and healthcare 2010
Present Posts
Professor of Clinical Genetics, Newcastle University
Honorary Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Lead Clinician NHS North East until March 2013
Chair Genetics Speciality Group, NIHR
Director of the Collaborative Group on Genetics in Healthcare (NIHR and Dept of Health)
Member UK Human Genomics Strategy Group
Chair British Society for Human Genetics (renamed British Society for Genetic Medicine) 2011-13
Medical Director QuantuMDx Ltd
member of the NHS Genomics Strategy Board 2013-
I now have two major areas of research: The CAPP programme has now succeeded in establishing that aspirin significantly reduces the risk of cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, the major form of hereditary colorectal cancer. We are now poised to transform the clinical management of cancer in all people with a family history. Our next major trial will be called CAPP3 and will be a dose inferiority study to determine the optimal dose. We are also exploring the development of a cell based vaccine focused on the frameshift proteins resulting from slippage in microsatellites in these tumours.
The second major direction will be to develop a new technology in genotyping and gene sequencing using the concept of using nanowires to detect the electrical imedance changes associated with nucleotide binding. Our startup company, QuantuMDx Group Limited has received second round funding and now holds a world exclusive licence for any diagnostic use of nanowires, nanotubes or nanoribbons.