Charles Swanton

Biography
Charles Swanton is Deputy Clinical Director and Principal Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute, a thoracic oncologist at University College London Hospitals, and Chief Clinician of Cancer Research UK. His research has helped define how cancers evolve over time, diversify within individual tumors, evade treatment, and spread. He is Chief Investigator of TRACERx, the landmark longitudinal study tracking the genomic evolution of lung cancer from diagnosis through relapse and metastasis. His laboratory integrates tumor genomics, circulating tumor DNA, immune biology, and studies of chromosomal instability to identify mechanisms that shape cancer progression and treatment resistance. This work has advanced the understanding of intratumor heterogeneity and has helped establish evolutionary principles as a framework for precision oncology. Dr. Swanton is a Fellow of the Royal Society and has received major international recognition for cancer research. His translational focus is on using evolutionary biology to improve early detection, risk assessment, treatment selection, and strategies to prevent or intercept metastatic disease.