My research focuses on the cancer stem cell. Cancer stem cells sustain cancers and leukaemias, are inherently resistant to many cancer therapies, including novel targeted agents and ultimately cause relapse in patients following therapy. We are most interested in the blood cancers, in particular chronic myeloid leukaemia. We have developed laboratory methods to purify the cells of interest from leukaemia patients and from normal donors, allowing side by side comparisons of leukaemic versus normal stem cells. These comparisons include global analyses of gene expression and protein expression. Any differences can then be fully investigated and exploited through drug discovery. Recently we have begun to explore high throughput drug screening against the purified cancer stem cells hoping to find drugs that rapidly kill the cancer stem cells but leave normal stem cells intact.
On the clinical side I run clinical trials of novel agents for patients with CML Scotland wide.
Dr Francisco Cervantes is senior consultant at the Hematology Department of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and Professor at the University of Barcelona. His scientific interest has been focused on the study of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the Ph-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), mainly their natural history, prognosis, biology and treatment. As a result of the activity in this field, he has published over 300 articles in peer-review journals. He was co-author of the publications of the IRIS study that allowed the approval of imatinib as frontline treatment of CML, participated in the introduction of the second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and is a member of the expert panels of the European LeukemiaNet for CML and MPN treatment. In the MPN field, he was the leading author of the prognostic classification of primary myelofibrosis or IPSS. Dr Cervantes is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the European Hematology Association, the International Working Group for MPN Research and Treatment, the European LeukemiaNet, and the PETHEMA Spanish Collaborative Group.
Present appointments:
21.1.05 - present
S.H. Ho Professor in Haematology and Oncology,
Department of Medicine,
1.7.99 – present
Chair Professor in Haematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine,
1.7.95 - present
Chief, Division of Haematology/Oncology and
Bone Marrow Transplant Unit
1.12.92 - present
Honorary Consultant, Hospital Authority,
1.9.04 – present
Deputy Head, Department of Medicine,
1.8.08 – present
Senior Advisor to the Dean, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of
19.12.08 – present
President, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.
Previous appointments:
1.7.79 ‑ 31.12.79
House Physician, University Department of Medicine,
1.1.80 ‑ 30.6.80
House Surgeon, Surgical Unit C,
1.7.80 ‑ 31.10.85
Medical Officer, University Department of Medicine,
Tung Wah Hospital, Hong Kong.
1.8.83 ‑ 31.3.84
Honorary Registrar, Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology,
1.4.84 ‑ 30.9.85
Lecturer, Departments of Medical Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology, Guy's
1.11.85 ‑ 30.6.91
Lecturer in Medicine (Haematology/Oncology), Department of Medicine,
1.7.91 ‑ 30.6.93
Senior Lecturer in Medicine (Haematology/Oncology)
Department of Medicine,
1.7.93 – 30.6.99
Professor (Reader)
Department of Medicine,
1.2.95 – 31.3.2002
Director, Cancer Research Centre,
Faculty of Medicine
1.3.92 - 28.2.95
Associate Dean
1.4.97 – 12.3.07
Faculty of Medicine
1.11.06 – 12.3.07
Director, Centre of Cancer Research,
12.3.07 – 31.7.08
Acting Dean/Dean of Medicine
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
Qualifications:
1979
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery,
1983
Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians,
1986
Fellow of the
Specialty Accreditation :
Advanced Internal Medicine
Haematology and Haematological Oncology
Medical Oncology
1990
Doctor of Medicine,
Title of thesis: "Malignant lymphomas in Hong Kong Chinese"
(Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal)
1992
Fellow of the
1992
Fellow of the
1993
Foundation Fellow of the
1995
Fellow of the
1995
Fellow of the Royal Australasian
2000
Registered specialist : Haematology, General Medical Council,
Special Appointments (International)
4.90 – 11.98
Member of Editorial Board, the International Journal
“Hematological Oncology”
11.98 - 2005
Associate Editor, Hematological Oncology
11.91
Hon. Treasurer, Organizing Committee, 7th Asian‑Pacific Congress of the International Society of Haematology
7.92
Assessor for the South Australian Research Grants,
Anti-Cancer Foundation of
1995 - 2000
Member of the International Affair Committee,
1999 - 2000
Chairman, International Affair Committee,
American Society of Clinical Oncology
1995 - present
Member of the Advisory Committee of the International
Bone Marrow Transplantation Registry,
1995 - 1997
Member, Advisory Board Panel, 3rd Pan-Pacific Lymphoma
1995 - 1997
Chairman, Scientific Committee of the 14th Asian Pacific Cancer Conference.
1997 - 1998
Advisor, Asian Clinical Trials Conference,
Member, Scientific Committee, 1997 - 98.
1997 - 1999
Member of Editorial Board, the International Journal
“Cancer Therapeutics”.
1997 - present
Examiner, MRCP (UK) Examination,
1998
Member, International Organising Committee, The 6th Congress of Asian-Pacific Bone Marrow Transplantation Group,
1998 - 1999
Member, Advisory Board Panel, 4th Pan-Pacific Lymphoma
1999 - 2003
Editor-in Chief, Journal of Clinical Oncology (Chinese Edition) and member of Editorial Board, Journal of Clinical Oncology.
1999
Member, Scientific Committee, Pan-Arab Conference on Lymphoma
1999 – present
Member of Editorial Board, the International Journal “Clinical Lymphoma”.
1999
External Reviewer, National Medical Research
36th Annual Meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine” – an international textbook on medicine.
2000
Member, International Strategic Planning Task Force, American Society of Clinical Oncology.
2001
International Advisor, 16th Asian Pacific Cancer Conference,
2002
Member, International Advisory Committee, 26th International Congress of Internal Medicine,
2003 - present
Member, Editorial board, “Medical Progress”, the Journal.
2004
Member, International Scientific Committee
2nd Annual Meeting of Asian Hematology Association
2004
Guest Editor, Asian Pacific Cancer Review.
2004
Member of the Expert Panel,
2005 – present
Member of the International Haematology Advisory Board, Janssen Pharmaceutical.
2005
Member, International Scientific Committee. 10th Congress of the Asian Pacific Bone Marrow Transplantation Group. Hang Zhou, October, 2005.
2006
Member, Editorial Board of the International journal : “Targeted Oncology”
2006
Member, Executive Committee, International T-cell lymphoma
2007
Member, clinical advisory committee for Lymphoid Neoplasms, World health Organisation classification of neoplasms of the Hematologic and Lymphoid neoplasms.
2007
Chairman, Universitat 21 Medical Conference,
2007
Associate Editor, Journal of Hematology and Oncology
2008
Co-Chairman, Chinese Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation.
Professor John M. Goldman has a long standing interest in the biology and therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). He was until 2004 Chairman of the Department of Haematology at Imperial College London, Director of the Leukaemia Research Fund Centre for Adult Leukaemia and Clinical Director of the Haematology Department at the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust. Thereafter he took up a 2-year appointment as Fogarty Scholar at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda USA. He is now active as Emeritus Professor of Haematology at Imperial College London and Medical Director of the Anthony Nolan Trust. He is editor of Bone Marrow Transplantation, a former editor of The Haematology Journal, and an associate editor of the European Journal of Haematology. He is also an editorial board member of numerous other journals and, during the course of his career, has published over 800 papers in peer-reviewed journals. As well as being the founding president of the British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, he is a former president of the International Society for Experimental Hematology, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the European Hematology Association.
Professor Goldman was the first to autograft patients with CML using peripheral blood stem cells and started allogeneic stem cell transplant for CML in 1980. He pioneered the use of unrelated donors for transplanting CML patients and developed PCR technology for monitoring residual disease. He confirmed the preclinical efficacy of the original tyrosine kinase inhibitor (STI571, now imatinib) in 1997 and first used it in the clinic in 1999. Thereafter he has been involved in development of second generation TKIs, notably dasatinib and nilotinib.
Timothy P. Hughes, MD, FRACP, FRCPA, is Head of the Department of Haematology at SA Pathology, RAH site, and Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He is also Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Adelaide and holds a Practitioner Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council. His clinical interests include chronic leukaemias and myeloproliferative disorders. His current research interests focus are in molecular monitoring for leukaemias, clinical resistance to targeted therapies in leukaemia and the development of assays to predict response and resistance to targeted agents. He has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand, for which he served as President from 2001 to 2003, and the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group, for which he served as a Director from 1999-2004 and as Vice-Chairman in 2003-4. In 2006 Professor Hughes was awarded the RACP Eric Susman Prize for the most outstanding contribution to the knowledge of any branch of internal medicine by a member of the College of Physicians.
Jerald P. Radich, M.D., is a Member of the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and is Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. He is the Medical Director of the Research Trials Office at the FHCRC, the co-chair of Leukemia Biology for the Southwest Oncology Group, and is the co-chair of the NCI/Cooperartive Group Leukemia Steering Committee. He belongs to the National Cancer Care Network and EuroLeukemiaNet CML committees. Dr. Radich’s main research interest concerns the genetics of leukemia, and the use of and development of modern molecular biology techniques towards early detection of leukemia.