Our eminent international Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) consists of scientists and other professionals with an interest in early cancer detection. The SAB meets annually and provides important strategic leadership for the Early Cancer Institute.
Scientific Advisory Board members
| Montse García-Closas, Institute of Cancer Research | Sara Hiom, VP, NHS Implementation & External Affairs, GRAIL Europe | Professor Jos Jonkers, Division of Molecular Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute |
| Professor Dan Landau, Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine and Core Member, New York Genome Center | Lord Prior of Brampton, Deputy Chairman UK and Global Senior Advisor at Lazard | Prof Caroline Relton, London School Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
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Professor Joellen Schildkraut, Jules and Uldeen Terry Distinguished Professor of Women's Health, Dept of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University |
Dr Peter Wrighton-Smith, Life Sciences Entrepreneur |
Biographies
Montse García Closas, Professor of Epidemiology and Group Leader for the Integrative Epidemiology Group at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London.
Professor García-Closas investigates the causes of cancer with the aim of understanding carcinogenic processes and improving risk assessment for precision prevention. She carries out a multidisciplinary research program on the genetic susceptibility, etiologic heterogeneity, and risk prediction for breast cancer.
She is a founder member of several large consortia with a focus on breast, bladder and other cancers, and also contributes to molecular epidemiology studies of these cancers.
Sara Hiom, VP, NHS Implementation & External Affairs, GRAIL Europe
Sara has long been a passionate spokesperson for early cancer diagnosis having spent over 20 years with Cancer Research UK as the Director responsible for the charity’s Early Diagnosis strategy, cancer intelligence, clinical and patient engagement. In this role she worked closely with the Department of Health, NHSE (and National Cancer Intelligence Network as was) and a host of other charities to champion earlier diagnosis of disease.
In 2020 she moved to the newly formed GRAIL Europe where she continues her work in cancer early detection, implementation, stakeholder and clinical engagement.
Jos Jonkers, Senior Group Leader, Division of Molecular Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI)
Jos Jonkers completed his PhD and postdoctoral research in the group of Dr Anton Berns at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). Following his second postdoc in the group of Dr Allan Bradley at the Wellcome Sanger Institute he started his own research group at the NKI in 2003. His research group studies human breast cancer using genetically engineered mouse models and patient-derived xenograft models. He is currently a Senior Group Leader in the Division of Molecular Pathology at NKI, Senior Investigator at the Oncode Institute, Affiliate Professor of Molecular Experimental Oncogenetics and Cancer Therapeutics at Leiden University, and elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).
Dan Landau, Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine and Core Member, New York Genome Center
Dan Landau, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a Core Member of the New York Genome Center. He is an oncologist whose long-term goal is to develop novel approaches to address cancer evolution as a central obstacle to cure. Dr. Landau has made seminal contributions to our understanding of cancer biology, developing novel genomics approaches to integrate genetic and non-genetic determinants of cancer evolution. He has also pioneered innovative genomics technologies for the study of cancer evolution, including for liquid biopsy treatment monitoring. His research group is funded by the NCI, NHLBI and NHGRI, and his work has led to recognition and awards including Stand Up to Cancer, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Vallee Scholar, Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.
Lord Prior of Brampton, Deputy Chairman UK and Global Senior Advisor at Lazard
Following education at Cambridge and subsequent qualification as a Barrister, David Prior held a number of senior positions within the industrial sector, including Commercial Director of British Steel.
In 1997 he was elected as MP for North Norfolk and served as Chairman of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 2002 – 2012 before becoming Chairman of the Care Quality Commission. In 2015, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and created a Life Peer. In December 2016, he was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, with specific responsibility for developing industrial strategy. He stepped down from this role in October 2017 to become Chairman of University College London Hospitals and subsequently became Chairman of NHS England and a member of the UK Life Sciences Council from November 2018 to March 2022.
He continues to advise the government on Life Sciences and is an advisor to Healthcare UK.
Caroline Relton, Pro-Director for Research and Academic Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Caroline's research interests are in genetic and epigenetic epidemiology. Her work has involved both methodological development and applied research, with the aim of seeking to understand the role of DNA methylation in common complex disease, and the use of this molecular feature in disease prediction, prognosis and patient stratification.
Joellen Schildkraut, Jules and Uldeen Terry Distinguished Professor of Women's Health, Dept of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Joellen is a cancer epidemiologist and the Jules and Uldeen Terry Distinguished Professor of Women's Health in the Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Part of her research focus is on familial cancer and, in particular, the genetic relationship between breast and ovarian cancers. Joellen was one of the first epidemiologists to understand and promote the concept that histological and molecular subtypes of cancer may have distinct etiologies. Her major contributions have been made to the understanding of traditional epidemiologic risk factors and the genetic and molecular subtypes of ovarian cancer. She teaches cancer epidemiology to graduate students at Emory University.
Peter Wrighton-Smith, Life Sciences Entrepreneur
Peter is a life sciences entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience as a CEO and Board Director of private and public high-growth businesses. He founded Oxford Immunotec, a global immunology focussed in vitro diagnostics company, where he was CEO until 2022, successfully building it from university spin-out to over $100m in revenues and 500 employees until it was sold to Revvity in 2021.
Amongst other appointments, Peter is a current board member of biomodal, an epigenetics focused life science tools company with a focus on oncology research and clinical testing; and a former board member of Inivata Limited a liquid biopsy company focused on cancer profiling and minimum residual disease testing. Both were spin-outs from Cambridge University.
Peter earned his Masters in Engineering, Economics and Management from the University of Oxford followed by a DPhil (PhD) in Medical Engineering, also at the University of Oxford. He is passionate about science-based businesses changing the world by taking on big global challenges.