#  Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D. 

###  Board member since 2026 

 

 ![Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/biography_detail_image_v2/public/2026-06/charles-swanton-bio-1170.jpg?h=4cf895d5&itok=_9JaP98C "Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.") 

 

 

**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



 



 

 

 



 

 



##  Novartis media library assets 

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 ![Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/cards_1_3/public/2026-06/charles-swanton-media-library-1.jpg.webp?itok=F5PSn6gJ "Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.") 

 

###  Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D. 

Board member

 

 

 ](/news/media-library/charles-swanton-mbphd-0) [ 

 ![Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.](/sites/novartis_com/files/styles/cards_1_3/public/2026-06/charles-swanton-media-library-2.jpg.webp?itok=A8U62ghC "Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D.") 

 

###  Charles Swanton, M.B.Ph.D. 

Board member

 

 

 ](/news/media-library/charles-swanton-mbphd-1)