Nationality: British | Year of birth: 1972
Charles Swanton is a British clinician, scientist and medical oncologist with experience in board governance, large-scale program leadership, and translational R&D. He serves as Deputy Clinical Director at the Francis Crick Institute and is the Royal Society Napier Professor in Cancer, with a track record of building and leading international research programs, advising industry, and co-founding a formerly listed biotechnology company.
Professional experience
- Deputy Clinical Director, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK (since 2023)
- Royal Society Napier Professor in Cancer (since 2016)
- Principal Investigator, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK (since 2016)
- Director and Chief Investigator, CRUK UCL Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and TRACERx programme (since 2014)
- Chair, Personalised Cancer Medicine, University College London / University College London Hospitals, London, UK (since 2011)
- Cancer Research UK Chief Clinician (2017– 2026)
- Co‑founder, Achilles Therapeutics (2016 – 2025)
Mandates
- Board member, Bicycle Therapeutics
Education
- Doctor of medicine, University College London Medical Schools, UK
- Doctorate (PhD), Imperial Cancer Research Fund / University College London, UK
- Bachelor’s degree (BSc, First Class Honours), Cellular Pathology, University College London, UK
Key skills
- Medicine/healthcare/R&D