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Professor Chris Pepper is the RM Phillips Chair in Experimental Medicine and Professor of Cancer Research (Clinical and Experimental Medicine) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex. He serves as Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange and leads the Pepper Lab, a multidisciplinary research team focused on hematological malignancies. His primary institutional affiliation is with the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, located at the Medical Research Building, University of Sussex, Falmer.
Professor Pepper's research has centered on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) for over two decades, with particular focus on understanding disease progression mechanisms and drug resistance. His laboratory has made significant contributions to the field, including being the first to demonstrate the clinical importance of BCL2 family proteins and NF-κB in CLL progression. His team has developed physiologically relevant multi-compartment in vitro models to study tumor microenvironments and molecular drivers of tumor cell trafficking. Key research areas include NF-κB signaling pathways, tumor microenvironment interactions, and developing novel therapeutic approaches targeting IKKα, NIK, CDK9, CXCR4 and ATR.
His publication record shows a clear trend toward increasingly sophisticated systems biology approaches to understanding hematological malignancies. Recent work combines computational modeling with experimental validation to predict therapeutic responses, particularly in DLBCL and CLL. The research demonstrates a strong translational focus, with most work based on primary patient cells and designed to improve clinical outcomes. His team has identified several promising therapeutic targets, including CD49d, TLR9, and specific NF-κB pathway components.
- Hamblin Prize (2025) for manuscript on PROTAC development
- Ten global patents related to cancer therapeutics
- Co-founder of TeloNostiX, a Cardiff University spin-out company
- Editorial Board Member for Frontiers in Oncology, Cancers, and International Journal of Hematologic Oncology
- Active grant reviewer for Blood Cancer UK and Cancer Research Wales
Professor Pepper has secured consistent funding from major organizations including Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research (now Blood Cancer UK), Cancer Research UK, and the Medical Research Council. His current grants focus on overcoming resistance to ibrutinib and venetoclax in CLL, modeling and targeting AML in the bone marrow niche, and using NF-κB 'fingerprints' to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in B-cell malignancies. He has supervised more than 45 postgraduate research degrees and is a strong advocate for research-led teaching, believing integration of cutting-edge research into educational programs inspires students to pursue research opportunities.
The Pepper Lab operates as a multi-disciplinary team combining clinical and scientific expertise to understand disease processes and identify novel therapeutic targets. The lab has three main research arms focusing on CLL, DLBCL, and AML, with current projects investigating NF-κB signaling, tumor microenvironment interactions, and novel drug development. The team collaborates extensively with researchers at King's College London and maintains strong translational focus with direct patient impact.
