Dr Justin Loke appointed to the Amit Patel Leukaemia Research Fellowship
We are delighted to announce, along with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the appointment of Dr Justin Loke to the Amit Patel Leukaemia Research Fellowship.
His specialist interest is in the myeloid blood cancers including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and he completed a PhD at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Professor Constanze Bonifer in the epigenetic deregulation of AML, for which he was awarded prizes from the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal College of Pathologists.
Dr Loke is currently an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, USA working with Professor Benjamin Ebert. He was funded as an American Association for Cancer Research/Cancer Research UK Transatlantic Fellow. He trained at both University of Cambridge and University of Oxford medical schools and then completed postgraduate haematology training in Birmingham.
Following completion of haematology specialist training, Dr Loke completed a fellowship with Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, Birmingham, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, with Professor Charles Craddock where he was involved in the development of supportive care studies and delivery of transplant studies in patients with AML. He will take up his new position in November 2025.
I am delighted and privileged to join Manchester with experience of new technologies and scientific training from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Dr Justin Loke
Newly appointed Amit Patel Leukaemia Research Fellowship
In line with the ambitions of the charity, Dr Loke has been appointed to develop an independent, high impact academic research programme with strong clinical translational potential aligned with the strategic goals of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. His new position will undertake research at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute alongside activity at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in the clinical Department of Haematology.
Speaking about his new appointment, Dr Loke said:
I am delighted and privileged to join Manchester with experience of new technologies and scientific training from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
I believe the cutting-edge scientific environment at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, integrated with the internationally renowned clinical expertise at The Christie will enable the development of a translational research program to discover new mechanisms driving aggressive blood cancers and improve treatments for our patients with these diseases.
This prestigious research fellowship is awarded in memory of Professor Amit Patel, Consultant Haematologist at The Christie, who sadly passed away in 2021.
Amit was a superb colleague and friend to many across Manchester and was nationally recognised for his trial portfolio and clinical leadership in transplant and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapies. His outstanding legacy is recognised through this fellowship which has been generously funded through The Christie Charity’s 2030 research programme.
Amit was an outstanding haematologist and his untimely death was a great shock to both his family, friends, colleagues and patients.
Professor Adrian Bloor
Consultant Haematologist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Speaking about Professor Patel, his friend and colleague Professor Adrian Bloor, who is a Consultant Haematologist at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and MAHSC Honorary Clinical Chair at the University of Manchester, said:
Amit was an outstanding haematologist and his untimely death was a great shock to both his family, friends, colleagues and patients. Our research program is pivotal to being able to advance our knowledge of blood cancers and to develop novel therapies for our patients. Justin’s appointment honours an extraordinary legacy while advancing cutting edge research in acute myeloid leukaemia, bridging world class science and compassionate clinical care.
An online memorial board created in memory of Professor Amit Patel containing many tributes can be found at: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/gher2QCj
We are excited that Dr Loke will be adding to the expertise in haematological research based in the state-of-the-art Paterson Building.
Located in Withington, South Manchester, the site hosts 700 researchers, clinicians, and operations staff, and directly connects a research facility with The Christie, one of Europe’s largest cancer hospitals. It houses the facilities and expertise befitting one of the world’s leading comprehensive cancer centres, helping scientists and clinicians develop new treatments from bench to bedside.
Appointments such as this are central to The Christie Charity’s commitment to supporting The Christie hospital’s vision of ‘learning from every patient’ and trebling the number of patients participating in research by 2030. Studies have shown that cancer patients treated at research-intensive hospitals have better outcomes than those treated in hospitals with little or no research activity. The Christie Charity has pledged to support and fund this goal with £30m over the next five years to accelerate research and innovation in Manchester, with the ultimate aim of bringing tomorrow’s treatments to patients faster.
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