Charles Swanton, PhD, FRCP
CHARLES SWANTON, PhD, FRCP, of The Francis Crick Institute, London, was recognized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) at the 2018 IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer with the Paul A. Bunn, Jr, Scientific Award, honoring his lifetime achievements in scientific contributions to thoracic cancer research.
Dr. Swanton is chief investigator of Cancer Research UK’s TRACERx clinical study to examine the evolution of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and define how intratumoral heterogeneity impacts cancer immunity. His team’s groundbreaking work has led to the discovery of multiple factors that accelerate cancer evolution, providing insights into cancer drug resistance and treatment failure.
“Dr. Swanton has over many years brought significant insight into the molecular complexity of lung cancer and its implication for lack of successful treatment in many cases,” said Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of IASLC. “With his research into clonal heterogeneity and emerging molecular clones during therapy, we have been given valuable insight into the biology of lung cancer, which should lead to improved treatment outcomes and hopefully one day turn lung cancer into a ‘chronic’—or curable—disease.”
Dr. Swanton has published more than 210 papers. He is Co-Director of the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and was appointed Cancer Research UK Senior Clinical Research Fellow, as well as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He is also Group Leader of the Translational Cancer Therapeutics laboratory at the London Research Institute, now part of The Francis Crick Institute.
Dr. Swanton received his doctorate from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, now Cancer Research UK. He completed his medical oncology and Cancer Research UK–funded postdoctoral clinician scientist training in 2008. ■
