Speakers 2027

Douglas Hanahan is a world-renowned cancer biologist whose research has transformed our understanding of how tumors develop and progress. He is particularly known for developing pioneering mouse models of cancer and for his influential work on tumor angiogenesis, the tumor microenvironment, and mechanisms of therapeutic resistance. Together with Robert Weinberg, he authored the landmark Hallmarks of Cancer framework, which has profoundly shaped modern cancer research. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, as well as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society.

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Rebecca Fitzgerald is a physician-scientist and internationally recognised leader in the early detection and prevention of cancer. Her research focuses particularly on oesophageal cancer and Barrett’s oesophagus, combining molecular biology, clinical studies, and innovative diagnostic technologies.

She led the development of the Cytosponge™, a minimally invasive test designed to improve the detection of Barrett’s oesophagus and early oesophageal cancer. She is an Honorary Consultant in Gastroenterology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2024.

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Michael Karin is an internationally renowned scientist whose work has uncovered fundamental mechanisms linking inflammation, immunity, metabolism, and cancer. His research has identified key stress- and inflammation-responsive signalling pathways and helped establish how chronic inflammation can promote tumor development and progression.

His current research addresses inflammatory signalling, innate immunity, metabolic disease, and cancer, with particular interests in liver and pancreatic tumorigenesis. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous international awards for his contributions to cancer and inflammation research.

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Connie Cepko is a leading geneticist and neuroscientist whose research has provided fundamental insights into the development and function of the nervous system, particularly the retina. Her laboratory uses molecular, genetic, and cellular approaches to understand how different neuronal cell types are generated and how their identities are established.

Her research also addresses retinal degeneration and the development of gene-based strategies to preserve vision in inherited forms of blindness. She is an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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Fiona Watt is a leading stem cell biologist whose research has transformed our understanding of how adult tissues are maintained and regenerated. Her work focuses particularly on the mechanisms controlling epidermal stem cell fate, differentiation, and tissue organisation, and on how these processes are altered in disease.

She has held major scientific leadership positions in the UK, including Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, and became Director of EMBO in 2022. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences and an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

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Elaine Chew is a pianist, mathematician, and engineer whose interdisciplinary research connects music, mathematics, and cardiovascular science. A pioneer in music information research, she develops mathematical and computational approaches to understand musical structures and physiological signals.

Her recent work explores the interactions between music and the cardiovascular system, including how music can be used to investigate cardiac rhythms and potentially inform personalised diagnostics and therapeutics. She is Professor of Engineering at King’s College London and Founder and Director of its Music Theranostics Laboratory.

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Allan Balmain is an internationally recognised cancer geneticist whose research has made major contributions to understanding the genetic and environmental factors that determine cancer susceptibility. His laboratory uses experimental genetics and systems approaches to investigate how inherited genetic variation interacts with environmental carcinogens to influence tumor development.

His research has helped reveal the complex genetic architecture underlying cancer risk, progression, and response to environmental exposures. More recently, his work has focused on systems genetics and on understanding how carcinogens reshape mutational landscapes and gene expression programmes in normal and malignant tissues.

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Napoleone Ferrara is a physician-scientist internationally renowned for his pioneering discoveries in angiogenesis. In 1989, he reported the isolation and cloning of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and subsequently established its central role in the formation of blood vessels in normal physiology and disease.

His discoveries provided the scientific foundation for therapies targeting VEGF in cancer and retinal diseases, including the development of bevacizumab (Avastin). His research continues to investigate the molecular regulation of angiogenesis and its therapeutic implications in cancer and ophthalmological disease.