Samra Turajlić appointed new director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute
We are delighted to announce, along with Cancer Research UK, The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the appointment of Professor Samra Turajlić as our new Institute Director.
Professor Turajlić has been an independent research group leader at The Francis Crick Institute since 2019 and is a consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. She is expected to take up her new position in September 2025.
Professor Turajlić is an outstanding clinician scientist with a remarkable track record in cancer research.
Her leadership will enable the Manchester Institute to continue to grow as a place where world-class clinicians and scientists work alongside one another to better understand the fundamentals of cancer and apply that knowledge to transform cancer treatment in the future.
Michelle Mitchell
Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK
Professor Turajlić’s work spans basic, translational and cancer research, and she has led numerous pioneering studies that have significantly advanced our understanding of cancer biology and treatment.
Her work on the TRACERx Melanoma and TRACERx Renal projects has provided groundbreaking insights into the genomic signatures of cancer progression and the response and resistance to targeted therapies. Such studies are pivotal in understanding how we bring new therapies from the lab to the clinic and how we tailor personalised treatment plans for cancer patients, improving outcomes and quality of life.
Since 2024, Professor Turajlić has led the UK consortium MANIFEST, which aims to understand how patients respond to immunotherapy, making treatments both safer and more effective – a major unmet scientific and clinical need.
Our research spans the spectrum of cancer research, including tumour-host interactions, microenvironment, biophysical regulation of tumour function, genetic and non-genetic drivers of tumour evolution, and response to therapy.
I’m honoured to be taking on the role of Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and look forward to working alongside such a talented community of scientists and clinicians.
Together with its partners, the Institute is poised to deliver transformational cancer research in the coming years. I am excited to lead the Institute in its mission to deliver for people with cancer.
Professor Samra Turajlić
Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute Director
Professor Turajlić’s contributions to the field have been recognised with numerous awards, including the ESMO Society Award for Translational Research for her work in cancer science and translational medicine. She received the UK COVID Cancer Pandemic Prize for her work on cancer and COVID-19, which informed health policy for patients. In 2018, Professor Turajlic was named as one of the “50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness” by life sciences network BioBeat.
Professor Turajlić will take over from Professor Caroline Dive, who has been our Interim Director for four years, providing exceptional scientific leadership during the pandemic and our move to the Paterson Building.
Professor Dive continues as director of the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre and co-lead of the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, supported by ScottishPower. Professor Dive will also remain as an Institute Group leader, heading the Small Cell Lung Cancer Biology group alongside Dr Kathryn Simpson.
It is fitting that the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, a world-leading cancer research centre focusing on a wide range of research areas from basic science to clinical trials, is to be led by a world-leading clinician scientist , Professor Samra Turajlić.
Professor Turajlić’s contributions to the study of cancer have been recognised around the world and I am delighted to welcome her to the Manchester family.
Professor Duncan Ivison
President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester
We are excited that Professor Turajlić is joining us less than 12 months on from the official opening of our state-of-the-art new 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 to be one of the world’s leading comprehensive cancer centres, helping scientists get new treatments from bench to bedside.
We are very excited to welcome Samra Turajlić at this significant moment in our history as we embark on a new era of cancer research in the Paterson Building.
I know Samra’s outstanding leadership and expertise will benefit the unique collaboration of Manchester’s ‘Team Science’ and keep our city at the forefront of new innovations in cancer treatment, bringing therapies from the bench to the bedside to benefit our patients now and in the future.
Roger Spencer
Chief Executive of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
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