I am delighted that Tavaré will be leading the Cambridge Institute. One of my main aims in Cambridge is to cross-fertilise different disciplines and Simon’s work applying mathematical approaches to understanding cancer is a fantastic example of how powerful this can be."
—Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK have appointed Simon Tavaré to be the next director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
Simon Tavaré, a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences, has been a Professor of Cancer Research in the Oncology Department and Professor of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge since 2003. He will take up his new post in February 2013, succeeding Sir Bruce Ponder.
Tavaré is a world-leading expert on probability, statistics and the biological and medical sciences. Much of his work has focused on the development of statistical methods that can help our understanding of cancer including aspects of population genetics, cancer genomics and DNA sequencing.
Tavaré said: "I’m thrilled to be taking on this exciting new role. We will make further strides in our understanding of cancer while enhancing the international reputation of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Our understanding of cancer is at a turning point. We are uncovering more of cancer’s secrets - and these secrets are taking us down new avenues of research that can lead to better treatments. Cancer research is indeed in an unprecedented age of discovery."
The Cambridge Institute is one of Cancer Research UK’s five institutes, playing a key role in its world-class research to find new ways to tackle cancer. Each year, thanks to the generosity of its supporters, Cancer Research UK invests £21m in the Institute to support this work.
Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: “I am delighted that Tavaré will be leading the Cambridge Institute. One of my main aims in Cambridge is to cross-fertilise different disciplines and Simon’s work applying mathematical approaches to understanding cancer is a fantastic example of how powerful this can be.”
Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: "It’s a great pleasure to announce Tavaré as the new director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. His research into statistical modeling and its application to genomics and cancer has earned him worldwide recognition. These are some of the new frontiers of cancer research that will yield more discoveries. The significant challenges that cancer poses are not insurmountable, and we look forward to Simon leading our Cambridge Institute in carrying out the high-impact research that will help us to cure more cancers sooner."
Copy courtesy of CRUK.