Professor Boshoff is Professor of Cancer Medicine at UCL . He has made a major contribution to viral oncology and in particular to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Kaposi’s sarcoma and Castleman’s disease. He has published many important papers over the past 10 years showing that Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpes Virus (KSHV) is directly involved in driving all Kaposi tumour cells. He went on to demonstrate the multiple mechanisms of cellular control which are modified by the virus to induce malignancy. This has given insight into the broader field of viral carcinogenesis and to the mechanisms by which non-viral carcinogenesis occurs. His recent demonstration that the virus drives endothelial cells to lymphatic differentiation is conceptually novel and important for its relevance to other types of cancer. He has continued the work translating from viral to non-viral oncogenesis by identifying a novel tumour suppressor in common cancers using an approach based on study of mechanisms that he had shown to be important in viral carcinogenesis. A striking element of his work is the broad view of cellular biology that he has elucidated including tumour immunity, paracrine effects and control of proliferation, apoptosis and cellular differentiation. This has elegantly shown the multiple mechanisms involved in carcinogenesis and the concerted way in which they act to produce cancer. The work with KSHV has arguably been the most complete elucidation to date of the process of cancer in a single tumour type.His recognition nationally and internationally is illustrated by numerous prizes and plenary lectures and he is a generous collaborator making his facilities and ideas available to colleagues and students. On top of all this he is an accomplished clinical oncologist with contributions in areas including sarcoma and head and neck cancer.