Alan Ashworth, FRS (born 1960 in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

, Lancashire) is a British molecular biologist, noted for his work on genes involved in cancer susceptibility. He is currently the President of the

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Cancer Center, affiliated with the UCSF School of Medicine and the UCSF Medical Center The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center is a research and tea ...

at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...

, a multidisciplinary research and clinical care organisation that is one of the largest cancer centres in the Western United States. He was previously CEO of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London.

Early life

Ashworth was educated at St Mary's Primary School and

Thornleigh Salesian College Thornleigh Salesian College is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the Astley Bridge area of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. History Thornleigh College was originally a boys school founded in 1925 by the Salesians of Don Bosco at the ...

, Bolton. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Imperial College, London, and was awarded a PhD in Biochemistry at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, London.

Career

Ashworth joined the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) in London in 1986 as a

Postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

Scientist in the Section of Cell and Molecular Biology and in 1999 he was appointed the first Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre (BBCRC). The Centre is now recognised internationally and has more than 120 scientists and researchers working on aspects of the disease ranging from basic molecular and cellular biology through to translational research and clinical trials. Ashworth's Directorship ended in January 2011 when he took up the position of Chief Executive of the ICR which he held until December 2014. One of Ashworth's major contributions to cancer research has been his work on genes involved in cancer risk. He was a key part of the team that in 1995 discovered the BRCA2 gene, which is linked to an increased risk of some types of cancers/ which is now used to identify women at high risk of the disease. Ten years later, Ashworth identified a way to exploit genetic weaknesses in cancer cells including mutated BRCA 1 or BRCA2, leading to a new approach to work on

Poly ADP ribose polymerase Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a family of proteins involved in a number of cellular processes such as DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death. Members of PARP family The PARP family comprises 17 members (10 putative) ...

(PARP) as a

drug target A biological target is anything within a living organism to which some other entity (like an endogenous ligand or a drug) is directed and/or binds, resulting in a change in its behavior or function. Examples of common classes of biological targets ...

for cancer. Ashworth's research and leadership reflects his passion for translating laboratory studies into improvements in patient care, particularly by the development of personalised cancer medicine. In 2014, Ashworth stepped down as Director of the ICR to join the University of California, San Francisco as President of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) and Senior Vice-President of Cancer Services of UCSF Health from January 2015. He also serves as Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine and holds the E. Dixon Heise Distinguished Professorship in Oncology. In 2016, Ashworth and Pamela Munster, MD, established the UCS
Center for BRCA Research
In November 2016 he started th

In 2017, he became inaugural chair of th
University of California Cancer Consortium

Awards and recognition

*1991 British Postgraduate Medical Federation Prize *1999 Elected to

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

. *2002 Elected Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to adv ...

*2008

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. *2009

European Society for Medical Oncology The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With more than 25,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 160 countries worldwide, ESMO was founded in 1975. ''Anna ...

Lifetime Achievement Award *2009 Elected Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences *2010 Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation David Workman Memorial Award *2010 Meyenburg Foundation Cancer Research Award *2013 Basser Global Prize *2015 Spirit of Empowerment Award, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) *2015 Genetics Society Medal *2016 Drexel Prize in Cancer Biology *2016 American Association for Cancer Research Board of Directors *2017

Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction The Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction was established by Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1992 to recognize leading scientists for their significant work in advancing research concepts or clinical application in the fields of breast canc ...

References

External links

Q&A with the New Director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

President's Welcome

Alan Ashworth's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Alan. 1960 births Living people Fellows of the Royal Society People from Bolton British medical researchers Academics of the Institute of Cancer Research British molecular biologists Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of University College London University of California, San Francisco faculty