Driving discoveries for tomorrow’s cancer care
Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, is a leading research institute within Queen Mary’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and a partner in the Cancer Research UK City of London Centre. We investigate cancer from every angle — from demystifying its biology to bringing life-changing cancer therapies to the clinic. Everything we do serves our ultimate goal: to create a future where no one lives in fear of cancer.
Founded in 2004, we are a modern institute built on more than nine centuries of medical practice and education. Our longstanding relationship with Barts Health NHS Trust provides access to one of the world’s most diverse cancer patient populations, enabling us to identify clinical needs, study cancer in all its complexity, address gaps in representation, and design studies with a global impact.
Under the leadership of our Director, Professor Nitzan Rosenfeld, and our Executive Board, we focus on accelerating the translation of discoveries from lab bench to bedside, while continuing to conduct fundamental research into the mechanisms of cancer initiation, evolution and behaviour.
Watch our short film to learn more about Barts Cancer Institute
Barts Cancer Institute is composed of seven closely connected research centres, home to more than 350 research staff and 100 graduate students. Our strength lies in our culture of collegiality and collaboration, where expertise and resources are shared freely, and diverse perspectives are valued.
Together, we’re uncovering new insights into the tumour microenvironment, developing approaches to detect cancer earlier, and applying AI and bioinformatics to reveal patterns in the disease that would otherwise remain hidden. We have developed pioneering new therapies and proven their efficacy in clinical trials. Several approaches developed by our teams are now approved for use in the NHS and around the world, improving survival and offering new hope for people who previously had very limited prospects.
We place a special emphasis on cancers of unmet need — including lung, pancreatic, oesophageal, ovarian and triple-negative breast cancers — in which we are using our depth of expertise to drive much-needed progress.
We are also training the next generation of cancer professionals through our postgraduate cancer programmes. We welcome aspiring cancer scientists from around the world, providing students with the mentorship, knowledge and experience they need to build successful careers and make their own contributions to the future of cancer research and care.
