History

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 was Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre between 1999 to 2010. 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. 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 cancer susceptibility genes.

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.