"At the Breakthrough Research Centre our aim is to make a difference to the people affected by this disease through a programe of cutting edge biological research. We are the first dedicated breast cancer research centre in the UK, and directly linked to one of the most respected cancer hospitals in Europe, the Royal Marsden Hospital".
Biography
Professor Alan Ashworth studied for his BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Imperial College, London, before completing his PhD in Biochemistry at University College, London. Since 1986, he has worked in the Chester Beatty Laboratories at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, and he was appointed Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the end of 1999. The Centre now contains around 120 scientists and researchers working on aspects of breast cancer ranging from detailed laboratory studies through to testing new treatments in clinical trials.
Professor Ashworth is an elected member of EMBO and the Academy of
Medical Sciences. He contributed to the discovery of the BRCA2 gene in 1995 and is currently developing new treatments for breast and ovarian cancers in BRCA carriers. Each year, Professor Ashworth is invited to speak at numerous scientific conferences, giving plenary and key-note lectures on his research developments. In 2007, this included presentations at the European Cancer Conference ECCO 18 in Barcelona, the American Association for Cancer Research 98th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago.
As well as directing the Breakthrough Research Centre, Professor Ashworth is on the Scientific Advisory Board for a variety of other research organisations including Breast Cancer Haven, Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University, Belfast and a number of companies, including Almac Diagnostics and London Genetics.
In May 2008, Professor Ashworth was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his major contributions to mammalian genetics, and the identification and study of inherited (breast) cancer susceptibility genes.
