Claude Chelala

Claude Chelala is a Professor of Bioinformatics at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), serving as Deputy Centre Lead and Group Leader at the Centre for Cancer Biomarkers and Biotherapeutics. His work bridges computational methods with translational cancer research.

• Co-Lead, Barts Life Sciences Precision Medicine Programme
• Chair, FMD Research Information Governance Group
• Member: Genomics England Research Network, Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank Advisory Committee, Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank Operational Group

Research Focus:
Specializes in translational bioinformatics, developing computational tools for high-throughput data analysis integrated with clinical data. Key applications include pancreatic cancer and breast cancer research, with emphasis on databases and software development for genomic sequence variation analysis (e.g., SNPnexus platform).

Major Funding:
£21M (Co-I/PI for QMUL) from EU IMI (2021-26), £5.7M Barts Charity (2021-26), £2.4M Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (2015-27), £3.9M/£4.5M Breast Cancer Now (2019-24/2024-29), and £738K from Chanel Parfums Beauté (2018-24) for skin aging research.

Scientific Themes:
Cancer prevention, risk reduction, databases, pancreatic cancer, and genomic data infrastructure. His publications demonstrate integration of bioinformatics with clinical oncology and public health applications.

Leadership Roles:
Leads the Precision Medicine Programme at Barts Life Sciences and chairs research governance committees. Coordinates pan-institutional initiatives linking QMUL, Barts Health NHS Trust, and international consortia.