Muslim Scientist Mariam Jamal-Hanjani Appointed Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK
Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, a leading cancer researcher at University College London (UCL), has been appointed Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK, one of the United Kingdom’s major cancer research charities. She officially began her new role on October 6, 2026, succeeding Professor Charles Swanton, who had held the position since 2017.
The appointment marks an important milestone in Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s career and places her at the centre of efforts to shape the charity’s clinical research priorities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer.
Who Is Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani?
Professor Jamal-Hanjani is a clinician scientist, thoracic medical oncologist and Professor of Cancer Genomics and Metastasis at UCL Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on understanding how cancer develops, changes over time, spreads to other parts of the body and becomes resistant to treatment.
She has gained international recognition for her contribution to cancer research, particularly studies investigating the evolution of lung cancer. Her work examines why tumours behave differently, how they adapt to treatments and why some cancers return even after patients have received medical care.
By studying these processes, researchers hope to identify opportunities for earlier intervention and develop treatments that are better suited to the characteristics of each patient’s cancer.
What Will Her New Role Involve?
As Chief Clinician, Professor Jamal-Hanjani will serve as Cancer Research UK’s senior clinical research adviser. She will help guide the organisation’s clinical research strategy and ensure that its work addresses important questions faced by patients and healthcare professionals.
Her responsibilities will also include supporting careers in clinical research and representing the charity across the UK and international research community.
The appointment comes at a time when advances in technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence are creating new opportunities to understand cancer and develop more targeted approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
Cancer Research UK Chief Executive Michelle Mitchell said Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s experience in leading research teams, treating patients and studying how tumours change made her well suited to the position. She highlighted the importance of translating scientific discoveries into progress for people affected by cancer.
Research into How Lung Cancer Evolves
One of Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s major research contributions has been her work with TRACERx, a large research programme investigating how lung cancer evolves.
Cancer is not always a fixed disease. As a tumour grows, different groups of cancer cells can develop different characteristics. Some may respond to treatment, while others survive and continue to grow. These changes can make the disease more difficult to control.
The TRACERx programme examines different parts of tumours and follows patients over time to understand how lung cancer develops and changes. The findings can help researchers investigate why some tumours spread, why treatments stop working and how doctors might identify patients who need different treatment approaches.
The wider aim is to improve understanding of cancer progression and create opportunities to intervene earlier or select treatments more precisely.
The PEACE Study and Understanding Cancer Spread
Professor Jamal-Hanjani has also played a leading role in the PEACE study, a research programme designed to investigate how advanced cancers spread and resist treatment.
The programme studies cancer in its later stages, including through tissue samples donated after death by people who have chosen to contribute to research. This provides researchers with opportunities to examine the disease in ways that may not be possible through samples collected during a patient’s lifetime.
By investigating the biological changes that occur as cancer progresses, the research aims to improve understanding of why the disease spreads and why some treatments eventually become ineffective.
Such work may help scientists identify new targets for future therapies, although further research and clinical testing are needed before discoveries can become established treatments.
Turning Scientific Discoveries into Better Patient Care
A central challenge in cancer research is ensuring that discoveries made in laboratories lead to practical improvements for patients.
Researchers may identify genetic changes, biological processes or potential drug targets, but these findings must be carefully tested to establish whether they can lead to safe and effective treatments.
Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s new position will allow her to contribute to decisions about clinical research priorities and encourage collaboration between scientists, doctors, research institutions and clinical trial teams.
She has expressed her ambition to accelerate the translation of research into better cancer outcomes. She has also highlighted the potential of the National Health Service (NHS) to connect research with patients on a scale that can support progress in cancer care.
Recognition for Her Contribution to Cancer Research
Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s research has received several awards, including the Royal Society of Medicine’s Sylvia Lawler Scientific Prize, the Association of Cancer Physicians’ McElwain Prize and the Cancer Research UK Translational Cancer Research Prize.
She has also contributed to collaborative research initiatives investigating difficult challenges in cancer, including how tumours adapt and how cancer-related weight and muscle loss develops.
Her work reflects the importance of collaboration across medical disciplines, as understanding cancer requires contributions from clinicians, geneticists, laboratory scientists and specialists in data analysis.
An Inspiring Milestone for Science and Education
Professor Jamal-Hanjani’s appointment highlights the importance of sustained education, research and collaboration in addressing major health challenges.
For students and young researchers, her career demonstrates how specialist knowledge and long-term dedication can contribute to medical progress. Her work also illustrates the role that universities, hospitals and research charities play in developing new ways to understand and treat serious diseases.
Her appointment is an important development for Cancer Research UK as the organisation continues its work to support research, improve cancer prevention and diagnosis, and develop better treatments for patients.
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