THE new director of Cancer Research UK’s Manchester Institute already considers herself an honorary Northerner.
Professor Samra Turajlić has been bowled over by the warmth and openness of everyone she has met in the North West and loves the vibrancy, creativity, arts and music scene in Manchester.
She and her family are keen Manchester City FC fans and looking forward to seeing some home games when she takes on the role of director in September.
Samra was originally attracted to studying Medicine and chose cancer as her speciality as she considers it a privilege to look after people when they are at their most vulnerable.
She was motivated to study cancer in the laboratory and undertake a Phd 20 years ago after becoming frustrated by the lack of progress in melanoma – a potentially deadly form of skin cancer often affecting younger people.
During her research career the outlook for these patients has changed remarkably due to research into targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Over half of melanoma patients today are potentially cured even after their disease has spread.
After witnessing how powerful research is at changing outcomes for people with cancer, Samra decided to set up her own research programme into melanoma, kidney cancer and increasingly other cancer types where immunotherapy is used.
Samra’s goal is to make sure more patients can benefit from curative therapies for their cancer and thinks that Manchester can play a world-leading role in this mission given the excellence in science and medicine across the partner organisations and the “can-do” attitude.
She said: “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. And am particularly excited about working in Manchester which is such an amazing and ambitious city.”
Samra has been an independent research group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London since 2019 and is a consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. She will continue her work as a research scientist and take on an oncologist role at The Christie.
Welcoming the appointment, Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “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.”
Since 2024, Samra 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.
Research at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute 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.
It’s an exciting moment to join the institute less than 12 months on from the official opening of the 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.
