Fellow

Frances Balkwill is Professor of Cancer Biology and Lead of the Translational Oncology Laboratory at Barts and the London, Queen Mary Medical School and has made major contributions to establishing links between inflammation and cancer. She has published seminal papers on the role of the cytokine TNF-alpha in tumour promotion in ovarian cancer and skin carcinogenesis, and on the effect of the CXCR4/CXCL12 interactions – chemical signals or chemokines that influence cell behaviour - on peritoneal spread of ovarian cancer. Importantly, her work has translated into clinical studies using the antagonists of TNFalpha - etanercept and infliximab. Her international standing is high - she is co-organiser of the 2007 Keystone Conference on Inflammation and Cancer and has recently published commissioned reviews for Nature Reviews Cancer and Cancer Cell on this topic. In addition to her impressive work in medical science, Fran Balkwill has made major contributions to the public awareness of Science. Awards for this include the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday Prize. Awarded 2005 ‘for her outstanding work in communicating the concepts, facts and fascination of science in a way that captures the imagination of children of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, while at the same time maintaining a distinguished research career’ and The 2004 EMBO Award for Communication in the Life Sciences which is presented annually to a practising life scientist in Europe who has made significant contributions to public understanding of science. She will be an asset to the Academy.