Congratulations to Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of sciences.
Professor Fitzgerald is among nine outstanding Cambridge researchers to have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society this year.
The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering and medicine.
This year over 90 researchers, innovators and communicators from around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society for their substantial contribution to the advancement of science.
"I am honoured to be elected a member of the Royal Society alongside so many illustrious figures. My scientific interests were sparked by treating patients with advanced cancer who could have had a different outcome if their pre-cancer had been diagnosed."
Rebecca Fitzgerald
Professor Fitzgerald's pioneering work to devise a capsule sponge test for identifying individuals at high risk for oesophageal cancer has won numerous prizes, including the Westminster Medal, and this test is now being rolled out in the NHS and beyond by her spin-out Cyted Ltd.
Our future Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will bring together clinical and research expertise, including Professor Fitzgerald’s work, under one roof. The state-of-the-art facility aims to speed up the time it takes for innovations generated by scientists in the lab, to be made available in an NHS setting. This will ultimately enable the development and discovery of more non-invasive devices like the Capsule Sponge, to help benefit more patients in the region, UK and beyond.
The new specialist facility for the East of England will house three world-leading research institutes focused on integrated cancer medicine, precision breast cancer medicine and an Early Cancer Institute Research Clinic, which Professor Fitzgerald will lead.
The BEST4 clinical trial launched at Addenbrooke's earlier this year to test whether the capsule sponge can prevent oesophageal cancer when used to screen or monitor those most at risk of the disease. If so, it could become a national screening programme across the NHS, in the same way mammograms are used to screen for breast cancer.
On hearing the news about her election to the Fellowship, Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald said:
"I am honoured to be elected a member of the Royal Society alongside so many illustrious figures. My scientific interests were sparked by treating patients with advanced cancer who could have had a different outcome if their pre-cancer had been diagnosed. With colleagues at Cambridge’s recently established Early Cancer Institute we will continue our work to understand who is at risk of cancer and the mechanisms through which it develops so that we can stop cancer in its tracks before it is a problem."
Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said: “I am pleased to welcome such an outstanding group into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.
“This new cohort have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the world around us and continue to push the boundaries of possibility in academic research and industry.
“From visualising the sharp rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution to leading the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their diverse range of expertise is furthering human understanding and helping to address some of our greatest challenges.
“It is an honour to have them join the Fellowship.”