Our main mission within the Centre is to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of cancer cell biology and how these can be therapeutically targeted. Our central aim is to understand the basic biology of cancer cells and harness this knowledge to identify new treatment strategies.
Welcome to the Centre for Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology, where our main mission is to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of cancer cell biology and how these can be therapeutically targeted.
We are a centre of excellence in state-of-the-art research and clinical translation, which brings together internationally-recognised basic science and clinical academics.
Our central aim is to understand the basic biology of cancer cells and harness this knowledge to identify new treatment strategies.
Our Centre is embedded in one of the UK’s top medical schools thus offering excellent opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations.
Centre Lead
Ground Floor, John Vane Science Centre,
Charterhouse Square,
London EC1M 6BQ
Senior Lecturer
Reader in Cell Biology
Reader in Molecular Biology and Epigenetics
Professor in Cancer Cell Biology
Professor of Computational Biology
Senior Lecturer
Professor Urology and Robotic Surgery
Clinical Senior Lecturer
Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology
Senior Lecturer
Lecturer
Scientists at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, have uncovered an important way that cells keep their genes under control. The discovery could help explain one of the earliest molecular changes that occurs during the development of lung cancer. The study, published in Science Advances, reveals that a protein called LIMD1, which is frequently lost in lung cancer, plays a much bigger role in controlling gene activity than scientists previously realised. The findings uncover a previously hidden layer of gene regulation and may provide new insight into how normal cells begin to lose control during the earliest stages of cancer.
Publications 23 July 2026
Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence method that can detect signs of cancer by combining several different clues found in DNA fragments circulating in the blood. The method, developed by a team led by scientists at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Cambridge, uses a comparatively inexpensive form of genome sequencing to detect signals shared by a range of cancer types.
Publications 10 July 2026
BCI researcher Dr Gabriella Ficz and team have been awarded funding as part of a £5.7m national collaborative initiative exploring how epigenetics can be harnessed to strengthen our immune system’s ability to fight viruses. Dr Ficz will receive £880,000 to support her team’s contribution to the epiPRIME project, awarded by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).
Grants & Awards 25 June 2026