Francesca Ciccarelli

Professor Francesca Ciccarelli serves as Professor of Cancer Genomics at Barts Cancer Institute and Principal Group Leader in Cancer Systems Biology at The Francis Crick Institute, where she also functions as Centre Lead. Her work focuses on cancer evolution in gastrointestinal malignancies including colorectal, stomach, and oesophageal cancers through advanced computational analysis of tumor heterogeneity and microenvironment interactions.

Her research spans Cancer Evolution, Cancer Genomics, and Immunotherapy with emphasis on tumor-immune microenvironment dynamics. She develops computational models to predict therapy response and resistance using single-cell molecular data, integrating clinical trial datasets to understand inter-patient variability. Key interests include somatic evolution in normal tissues, early cancer detection biomarkers, and immunogenomic mechanisms in gastrointestinal cancers.

Analysis of her 2021-2023 publications reveals consistent focus on cancer genomics methodologies, tumor evolution patterns, and immunotherapy response prediction. Her work bridges computational biology with clinical oncology, particularly in gastrointestinal cancers, with recurring themes of somatic driver identification, microenvironment interactions, and translational applications for early detection.

Professor Ciccarelli has secured substantial funding including a Barts Charity grant (£1,022,246; 2023-2026; PI), CRUK City of London Major Centre Award Renewal (£25,000,000; 2023-2028; Co-I), and CRUK Early Detection Project Award (£498,174; 2022-2026; PI) targeting oesophageal adenocarcinoma detection from Barrett's oesophagus.

She co-leads the City of London CRUK Major Centre Cancer Evolution Theme (2019-present) and serves on the Steering Committee of the Oesophageal Cancer Clinical and Molecular Stratification (OCCAMS) consortium, directing the Centre for Cancer Evolution within her Cancer Systems Biology group.