Yaohe is a Professor of Cancer Cell and Gene Therapy at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London and the Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Sino-British Research Centre for Molecular Oncology, which he established in 2006 with Professor Nick Lemoine.

He leads a world-class team of cell and gene therapy experts that work on cancer prevention and immunotherapy using tumor-targeted replicating oncolytic viruses, in particular focusing on replicating adenovirus and vaccinia virus.

Prior to joining Barts Cancer Institute and founding VacV, Professor Wang undertook research in the molecular biology of cancer as well as cancer viral and genetic therapy at the MRC Toxicology Unit at Leicester University and the Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Unit based at Imperial College London.

Yaohe qualified in medicine and obtained a PhD in 1997.

Nick is Director of the Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and Director of Cancer Research & Development at Barts Health NHS Trust. He is also the National Medical Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network and Chair of the NIHR i4i Challenge Awards Scheme.

Nick was the Editor of the Nature Specialist Journal Gene Therapy for twenty years and his research into the molecular genetics of cancer and gene therapy has been funded by program grants from MRC, Cancer Research UK, Digestive Cancer Campaign, and the European Union.

He holds a PhD in molecular oncology from The University of Wales College of Medicine, and an MD in molecular oncology from the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2006, and as a Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017. He was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to clinical research, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Pandha is a senior academic and Head of Oncology at Surrey University. He trained in internal medicine and subsequently in medical oncology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, London.

Hardev is a Consultant Oncologist and international key opinion leader in the management of patients with prostate, kidney (renal) and bladder cancers and heads a group of 22 scientists, graduate students and academic nurses. He works with a multidisciplinary team of colleagues at the Nuffield at St Lukes Cancer Centre to ensure optimal patient care. He has a key interest in using immune-based treatments (immunotherapy) and has led numerous early phase clinical trials with these agents, as well as novel cancer treatments involving live viruses and targeted small molecule therapies.

He completed his PhD at Imperial College in the labs at the Hammersmith Hospital, London. Hardev was a visiting fellow at Stanford University USA prior to completing his medical oncology training at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. He was appointed as an Academic Consultant Medical Oncologist at St Georges Hospital, London, and Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Surrey in 2006.

Professor Harrington specialises in developing new treatments using biologically targeted agents such as viruses, antibodies and small molecules, that selectively destroy cancer cells and activate anti-tumour immune responses. He is Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and an honorary consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden (RMH) and St George’s Hospital, London.

Kevin was appointed as Head of the ICR’s Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging in 2013. He is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator (elected in 2016) and leads the Targeted Physical Therapies theme within the RMH/ICR Biomedical Research Centre. Professor Harrington is the National Chairman of the CRUK Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies Network Accelerator (ART-NET) and has held a CRUK programme grant for research in head and neck cancer since 2011. He is Director of the CRUK/Wellcome Clinical Research PhD studentship programme at ICR and co-chairs the Research Sub-Committee of the ICR/Imperial College CRUK Major Centre.

Kevin studied medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, and began focusing on head and neck cancer while a PhD student at Hammersmith Hospital. His PhD thesis was on the subject of liposomally-targeted radiosensitisers in head and neck cancer, including both pre-clinical and translational clinical studies. He completed postdoctoral research in Professor Richard Vile’s laboratory at the Molecular Medicine Programme in the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, with a specific focus on gene therapy and viral gene delivery.

Professor Melcher is a member of the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre, which brings together leading researchers in engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medicine to develop innovative ways to address challenges in cancer.

In April 2016, he moved to The Institute of Cancer Research, London, as Professor of Translational Immunology and Honorary Consultant Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. He combines a clinical practice in head and neck cancer and melanoma with laboratory and translational research focused on oncolytic viruses and immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

Alan is the Lead of the Centre for Translational Immunotherapy, a virtual Centre bringing together staff and students from the ICR and our partner hospital, the Royal Marsden, that aims to increase communication between clinicians and scientists with an interest in translational immunotherapy.

Alan graduated in medicine from the University of Oxford in 1989 and trained in Clinical Oncology (Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy) in Cardiff, London and Leeds. Following completion of his PhD at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) in London, he was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, before returning to the UK, where he became Professor of Clinical Oncology and Biotherapy in Leeds in 2007.

Farzin Farzaneh is currently the Chief Scientific Officer of ViroCell Biologics and serves as a member of the Board of Directors. He is also Chair of Molecular Medicine at King’s College London and Trans-campus Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany.

Prior to this, Farzin established the Rayne Cell and Gene Therapy Suite (RCTS) for the GMP manufacture of Investigational Medicinal Products (IMP) and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) at King’s College London. This facility has produced the largest number of viral vectors for gene therapy based clinical studies in Europe. He is also a Member of the MHRA Commission on Human Medicines: Clinical Trials, Biologicals & Vaccines (CTBV) Expert Advisory Group.

He is an honorary Consultant in Specialist Medicine at King’s College Hospital and has been authorised by the MHRA to act as a Qualified Person (QP) for the release of cell and gene therapy products for clinical trials since 2004 and acts as a QP at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, and at the Institute of Child Health / Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trusts in London.