Sir Leszek Borysiewicz | |
---|---|
345th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge | |
In office 1 October 2010 –1 October 2017 | |
Chancellor | |
Preceded by | Dame Alison Richard |
Succeeded by | Stephen Toope |
Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council | |
In office 1 October 2007 –30 September 2010 | |
Minister | |
Preceded by | Colin Blakemore |
Succeeded by | Sir John Savill |
Personal details | |
Born | Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz 13 April 1951 Cardiff,Wales,UK |
Residence(s) | Cambridge,England |
Alma mater | Cardiff University School of Medicine (MB BCh) Imperial College London (PhD) |
Occupation | Immunologist and academic |
Awards | Knight Bachelor |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | Cell mediated immunity to human cytomegalovirus infection (cytotoxic T cell and natural killer cell mediated lysis of human cytomegalovirus infected cells) (1986) |
Doctoral advisor | J.G.P. Sissons [1] Keith Peters [1] |
Sir Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz (born 13 April 1951) is a British professor,immunologist and scientific administrator. [2] He served as the 345th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge,his term of office (a maximum of seven years) [3] started on 1 October 2010 and ended on 1 October 2017. [4] Borysiewicz also served as chief executive of the Medical Research Council of the UK from 2007-2010 and was the chairman of Cancer Research UK from 2016 to 2023. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz [9] was born in Cardiff,Wales,United Kingdom,to Jan and Zofia (née Wołoszyn) Borysiewicz,ethnic Polish World War II-era refugees (from what is present-day Belarus) who came to Great Britain with the Anders' Army. [10] He still speaks fluent Polish. After attending Cardiff High School,Borysiewicz studied at Welsh National School of Medicine of Cardiff University,where he obtained a BSc in anatomy 1972,followed by an MB BCh medical degree in 1975. [11] He received a PhD degree from Imperial College London (then part of the University of London) in 1986 for his thesis on Cell mediated immunity to human cytomegalovirus infection (cytotoxic T cell and natural killer cell mediated lysis of human cytomegalovirus infected cells) supervised by J.G.P. Sissons and Keith Peters. [1]
Borysiewicz pursued a career in academic medicine at the University of Cambridge,where he was a fellow of Wolfson College,and then as a consultant at Hammersmith Hospital. He headed the Department of Medicine at the University of Wales before joining Imperial College London,where he was promoted to Deputy Rector responsible "for the overall academic and scientific direction of the College," [12] In September 2007,it was reported he would succeed Colin Blakemore as the 9th head of the Medical Research Council,a national organisation that supports medical science with an annual budget of around £500 million. [6] [13] [14] [15]
Borysiewicz was appointed as chairman of Cancer Research UK in November 2016. Cancer Research UK is one of the world's largest fundraising charities and is governed by a council of trustees,led by Borysiewicz. The council's role is to set the charity's strategic direction,uphold its value and governance,and guide,advise and support the chief executive. [16]
Borysiewicz previously chaired the European Research Council Identification Committee (2014-2020); [17] Scientific Advisory Board,Department for International Development,UK Government (2010-2016);and Joint MRC/UK Stem Cell Foundation Scientific Advisory Board (2005-2007). [18]
He currently holds several other roles,including as a member of the UK Health Honours Committee, [19] Wales Science and Innovation Council [20] and as a non-executive director at 52 North Health. [21]
Borysiewicz's research focuses on viral immunology,infectious disease,and viral-induced cancer. [22] His work in vaccines included Europe's first trial of a vaccine for human papillomavirus to treat cervical cancer,research conducted at Cardiff University. [23] He has co-authored and co-edited a number of books on these subjects,including Vaccinations. [24]
Borysiewicz was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2001 New Year Honours List for services to Medical Research and Education. [25]
In 2002 he was awarded the Moxon Trust Medal of the Royal College of Physicians. He was also a Governor of the Wellcome Trust,a founding fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences [26] and co-chair of the MRC's advisory group on stem cell research. [6] He was awarded an honorary doctorate of medicine in 2010 at the University of Sheffield. Borysiewicz is also a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales [27] and Fellow of the Royal Society. [28] [29]
In October 2018 he was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland,the highest-ranked Polish order of merit awarded to foreigners or Poles resident abroad for their services to Poland. [30] He collected it during a ceremony at the Polish Embassy in London in late April 2019. [31] In 2019,he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Jagiellonian University. [32]
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is responsible for co-coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI),which came into operation 1 April 2018,and brings together the UK's seven research councils,Innovate UK and Research England. UK Research and Innovation is answerable to,although politically independent from,the Department for Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse is an English geneticist,former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,along with Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt,for their discoveries of protein molecules that control the division of cells in the cell cycle.
Sir Martin John EvansFLSW is an English biologist who,with Matthew Kaufman,was the first to culture mice embryonic stem cells and cultivate them in a laboratory in 1981. He is also known,along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies,for his work in the development of the knockout mouse and the related technology of gene targeting,a method of using embryonic stem cells to create specific gene modifications in mice. In 2007,the three shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition of their discovery and contribution to the efforts to develop new treatments for illnesses in humans.
The Cardiff University School of Medicine is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff,Wales,UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire,it is the oldest of the three medical schools in Wales.
Sir David Keith Peters is a retired Welsh physician and academic. He was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge from 1987 to 2005,where he was also head of the School of Clinical Medicine.
Dame Jean Olwen Thomas,is a Welsh biochemist,former Master of St Catharine's College,Cambridge,and Chancellor of Swansea University.
Sir Menelaos (Mene) Nicolas Pangalos is a British neuroscientist of Greek descent.
Brigid L. M. Hogan FRS is a British developmental biologist noted for her contributions to mammalian development,stem cell research and transgenic technology and techniques. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Duke University,Born in the UK,she became an American citizen in 2000.
Stephen Craig West FRS is a British biochemist and molecular biologist specialising in research on DNA recombination and repair. He is known for pioneering studies on genome instability diseases including cancer. West obtained his BSc in 1974,and his PhD in 1977,both from Newcastle University. He is currently a Principal Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London. He is an honorary Professor at University College London,and at Imperial College London. In recognition of his work he was awarded the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine in 2007,is a fellow of the Royal Society,the Academy of Medical Sciences,an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences,and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 2022 Royal Medal for 'discovering and determining the functions of key enzymes that are essential for DNA recombination,repair and the maintenance of genomes'.
Ronald Alfred LaskeyFLSW is a British cell biologist and cancer researcher.
Sir John Gerald Patrick Sissons was an English physician,specialising in nephrology and virology,focusing on cytomegalovirus. He was aFRCP,FRCPath,FMedSci and Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge.
Simon Tavaré is a British researcher who is the founding Director of the Herbert and Florence Irving Institute of Cancer Dynamics at Columbia University. Prior to joining Columbia,he was Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute,Professor of Cancer Research at the Department of Oncology and Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at the University of Cambridge.
John Tooze FRS was a British research scientist,research administrator,author,science journalist,former executive director of EMBO/EMBC,director of research services at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute and a vice president at The Rockefeller University.
Anne Jacqueline Ridley is a British biologist who is professor of Cell Biology and Head of School for Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol. She was previously a professor at King's College London.
Sir Andrew James McMichael,is an immunologist,Professor of Molecular Medicine,and previously Director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is particularly known for his work on T cell responses to viral infections such as influenza and HIV.
Richard Malcolm Marais a British researcher who is Director of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Manchester Institute and Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Manchester.
Sir Richard Henry Treisman is a British scientist specialising in the molecular biology of cancer. Treisman is a director of research at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
Robert Charles Swanton is a British physician scientist specialising in oncology and cancer research. Swanton is a senior group leader at London's Francis Crick Institute,Royal Society Napier Professor in Cancer and thoracic medical oncologist at University College London and University College London Hospitals,co-director of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence,and Chief Clinician of Cancer Research UK.
Charles Bangham is a British scientist who holds the Chair in Immunology at Imperial College London.
Caetano Maria Pacheco Pais dos Reis e Sousa is a Portuguese scientist who is a senior group leader at the Francis Crick Institute and a professor of Immunology at Imperial College London.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.