Catherine Harwood

Catherine Harwood is a Clinical Professor of Dermato-Oncology at the Queen Mary University of London, affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and the Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research. She qualified in medicine from Cambridge University and St Thomas' Hospital London in 1987, completed dermatology training at St George's Hospital (1992-1995), and earned a PhD on HPV and the molecular basis of non-melanoma skin cancer through an MRC Clinical Training Fellowship (1995-1998).

• Education
  • MA, University of Cambridge
  • MBBS, St Thomas' Hospital London
  • PhD, Royal London Hospital

Her research focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancer, integrating virological, genetic, and epigenetic factors, and clinical trials in skin cancer prevention. She leads the Cancer Research-UK Skin Tumour Laboratory Clinical Programme, investigating HPV's role in keratinocyte skin cancer (KSC) and developing chemoprevention strategies for high-risk organ transplant recipients. Collaborations with Drs. Alan Storey, Peter Karran, and Daniele Bergamschi underpin her work on the p53 pathway, azathioprine's carcinogenicity, and melanoma research.

Current projects involve a genomics program analyzing SCC stratified by HPV status via SNP arrays, gene expression arrays, and functional studies. Her team includes postdocs, PhD students, and clinical fellows. She supervises students Jason Thomson (Primary), Emma Taggart, and Tjaša Bensa.

Scientific Awards and Funding

• MRC Clinical Training Fellowship
• AICR-funded Clinical Fellowship
• Cancer Research-UK funding

She works with the Cancer Research-UK Skin Tumour Laboratory Clinical Programme and collaborates with the European EPI-HPV-UV-CA consortium, focusing on translational studies of skin cancer.