Dr. Ian Tomlinson

Biography

Professor Tomlinson joined the Department of Oncology from the University of Edinburgh in Autumn 2022, holding the Ian Charles Ethel Barr Chair in Cancer Research. He is the Director of the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, which includes the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre. Previously, he was the Director of the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham and has worked at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, the University of Oxford, and the Institute of Cancer Research. His research interests are focused on discovering and functionally characterizing cancer driver genes, particularly germline variants that predispose individuals to cancer. He has a longstanding interest in cancer evolution, stemming from his PhD project in population genetics, with specific emphasis on the contributions of selection and mutation to cancer growth. Ian's work primarily investigates colorectal cancer but extends to other cancer types, aiming to integrate work across various biomedical areas, including human patient cohorts, clinical settings, animal models of disease, and biomathematics.

Research Interests

Experience