Steven C Clifford

Steve Clifford is Chair of Molecular Paediatric Oncology and Director of the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer. He leads its Childhood Brain Tumour Research team (25 scientists/clinicians), with major interests in understanding the biological basis of embryonal brain tumour development (principally medulloblastoma), and translating these findings into improved clinical treatments. His international bench-to-bedside programme in medulloblastoma has been central to advances in childhood neuro-oncology research and international clinical trials over the last two decades. His team has made fundamental discoveries through advanced genomic, biomarker, trials and functional studies, and translated these into improved molecular diagnostics, risk-stratification, and therapeutics. These discoveries now form the basis of medulloblastoma diagnostic sub-classification internationally (WHO classifications, 2016 & 2021), and he helped pioneer first clinical trials of biomarker-driven risk-adapted personalised therapies (e.g. SIOP-PNET5-MB/HR-MB) and state-of-the-art diagnostics across Europe. The UK leads worldwide in delivering these for all patients, through the National Reference Centre in Newcastle. Clifford plays leading roles in national (CCLG, NCRI) and international (SIOP-Europe, ITCC-Brain) research networks and clinical trials in medulloblastoma. His research is supported by programme grants from Cancer Research UK, Children with Cancer UK, CCLG/The Little Princess Trust and Children's Cancer North, and he has published over 135 peer-reviewed papers with >26,000 citations. He is passionate about training the next-generation of cancer researchers and clinicians; he leads under-graduate modules in Cancer at Newcastle University, supervises (>20 to date) and regularly examines MD and PhD candidates. Prof. Clifford is Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) CNS tumours group. He sits on steering committees including the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group executive and ITCC-Brain committee, and on advisory panels for organisations including The Brain Tumour Charity (SAB Chair), Cancer Research UK, The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, The French National Cancer Institute (INCa) and The Singapore Medical Research Council. He is a Trustee of the JGWP charitable foundation and 'Children with Cancer in Malawi', an charity outreach programme for children’s cancer care in Africa. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2021), and awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (2022), in recognition of his achievements in translational paediatric oncology.