The AMS Professorship scheme forms part of a national initiative to attract and retain world-leading scientific talent to the UK. It supports outstanding biomedical and health researchers who have recently taken up a full professor position, providing up to £500,000 over five years in flexible research funding, alongside access to the Academy’s extensive network of mentors and collaborators.
Professor White joined Ludwig Oxford in 2022 from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His research explores how gene expression programs involved in embryonic development are co-opted in cancer, with a particular focus on melanoma. The work of his group aims to understand why, when, and where tumours arise in the body, and to uncover mechanisms that may offer new therapeutic opportunities for treating cancer and preventing metastasis.
“Cancers are notoriously plastic,” said Professor White “they can rapidly change their behaviours to enable metastasis and resist therapy. In my AMS Professorship, I will determine whether the biophysical aspects of melanoma - temperature, electrical coupling and mechanical force - endow these cells with such plasticity. Our goal is to define how the physical environment of tumour cells may offer new therapeutic opportunities to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Professor White is one of three researchers to receive this year’s AMS Professorships, which recognise world-class researchers whose work spans disciplines, sectors, and borders to advance health and biomedical innovation.
“The AMS Professorships are an investment in people - in the kind of leaders who make science truly global,” said Professor James Naismith, Vice President (non-clinical) at the Academy of Medical Sciences. “These awards recognise and invest in scientific leadership. They give talented individuals the freedom and stability to think ambitiously, collaborate widely and drive health innovation that delivers tangible global impact. Congratulations to the awardees, they represent the very best of UK medical science - creative, outward-looking and committed to improving lives.”
This recognition highlights the role of Professor White’s research in deepening scientific insight into the mechanisms driving tumour development and metastasis. His contributions have helped advance understanding within the field, and the AMS Professorship will support further progress in this area.