From Mark Caulfield, Vice Principal (Health)
Dear Staff, Students and Alumni, I'm writing to share the news that Professor Nick Lemoine FMedSci, CBE will be stepping down as Director of the Barts Cancer Institute on August 31 2023 after 17 years. Nick joined us in 2005 from Imperial College at the Hammersmith Hospital and was specifically appointed by Sir Nick Wright to establish a new cancer institute within the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Nick's exceptional and innovative leadership established and built the Barts Cancer Institute (BCI) at Queen Mary as one of the foremost translational cancer research institutes worldwide for which we owe Nick a huge debt of gratitude. As the Barts Health Clinical Academic Group Director he worked with NHS clinical teams to establish of the Barts Cancer Centre at the new Barts Hospital in 2012. His linkage of bench to bedside cancer research and educational endeavour of BCI to leading edge clinical care at Barts hospital has been key to the recent successful award of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, including a cancer theme and securing a major uplift to £21M and successive Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Centres and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres. In addition, the recent renewal of the CRUK City of London Centre in partnership with UCL, King’s and the Crick Institute with substantially increased funding of £25M is a real testament to the strength of the Institute and Nick's own leadership and the strength of the BCI and its translational research portfolio. His contributions extend well beyond the Faculty including being the Medical Director for the National Institute for Health & Care Clinical Research Network where he led the Nation’s clinical research during the pandemic and more recently the recovery of clinical research activity across the NHS. For his leadership Nick was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to clinical research particularly during Covid-19. Nick chairs the Medical Research Foundation (the MRC’s independent charity) and the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, as well as being Chair of the NIHR i4i Challenge Awards committee. He has also done an excellent job as the Barts and The London Student Association President for many years working with student officers, clubs and societies and our student body. After stepping down as Director, Nick will continue as Professor of Molecular Oncology, and as Centre Lead for the Centre for Biomarkers and Biotherapeutics in the BCI and a founding Director of the QMUL spin-out company VacV Biotherapeutics Ltd. He will also continue to be Medical Director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network. The Faculty will celebrate Nick's achievements over the coming months. Meanwhile I extend, alongside that of Queen Mary, our Faculty's and my deepest thanks to Nick's for his huge dedication and inspiration as the Director of BCI who created an outstanding translational cancer research centre at Queen Mary. To continue Nick’s legacy I am announcing today that we will be initiating a search for a new Director, with the post being advertised both within QM and externally to identify an international leader in cancer to drive the BCI forward. With all of our thanks to you Nick
Mark CaulfieldVice-Principal for Health