Fellow

Lawrence Young, Head of Division of Cancer Studies at the University of Birmingham is a distinguished scientist with an international reputation for his work in the field of human tumour virology. His early work in the EBV field was the first to show that viral gene expression in EBV-positive tumours such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma was restricted to just a subset of the latent cycle proteins. This finding had a huge impact on the subsequent direction of work on the pathogenesis of these tumours and focused attention on the latent membrane proteins LMPs 1 and 2 as key effector molecules. Since that time Lawrence has made many important contributions to the understanding of EBV-epithelial cell interactions, in particular identifying the pathways by which LMPs 1 and 2 affect epithelial cell growth and survival. Since joining the CRUK Institute for Cancer Studies in Birmingham, Lawrence has been the leading figure in a large multi-disciplinary team working on the design and clinical testing of novel gene- and immuno- therapies for cancer. He is a true example of the scientist who combines basic research of high quality with a commitment to translational work.