Global Impact
2020-2026
2020
Giles Yeo, Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology and programme leader at MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, appointed MBE for services to research, communication and engagement.
2021
Paul Wilkinson becomes Dean.
2021
Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre, awarded a knighthood for services to autism.
2021
AstraZeneca’s new building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus opens.
2022
Theo Chalmers Prize established to recognise students engaged in improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in the University and the wider community.
2022
The School twins with Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine and welcomes 20 of Kharkiv’s medical students to Cambridge for seven-week placement.
2022
Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute opens.
2022
Li Ka Shing Early Cancer Institute opens.
2022
Regius Professor Patrick Maxwell elected by the heads of medical schools across the UK to chair the Medical Schools Council for three years.
2022
Krishna Chatterjee, Professor of Endocrinology, appointed CBE for services to people with endocrine disorders.
2022
Raghib Ali, Clinical Epidemiologist at IMS Epidemiology and CEO, Chief Investigator and Chief Medical Officer of the UK’s largest health research programme Our Future Health, appointed OBE for services to the NHS and the COVID-19 response.
2022
Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of the Early Cancer Institute, appointed OBE for services to cancer.
2023
A purpose-designed facility to reduce waiting lists for routine orthopaedic operations – the Cambridge Movement Surgical Hub – opens.
2023
Steve Jackson, University of Cambridge Frederick James Quick and Cancer Research UK Professor of Biology and Senior Group Leader at CRUK CI, awarded knighthood for services to innovation and research.
2023
Roland Sinker, Chair of the University's Inclusive Innovation and Growth Review, appointed CBE for services to healthcare.
Cambridge and Covid-19
Across the globe, the first half of the 2020s was defined by the coronavirus pandemic.
In March 2020, before the first UK lockdown was announced, the School pivoted quickly, moving all teaching online and developing a new online course to prepare students for working in the clinical setting during the pandemic. The final year clinical students would ordinarily have taken exams at the end of April that year. In lieu of ordinary exams, the School Deanery team examined each student’s performance in clinical placements. Without an in-person Declaration Ceremony, the class of COVID ventured straight to the frontlines of the pandemic.
The School, the University and Addenbrooke’s Hospital played a major role locally and globally through their united response to COVID.
In April 2020, the University joined forces with AstraZeneca and GSK to create the Cambridge Testing Centre, boosting the UK’s COVID-19 testing capabilities through innovation and cutting-edge technology. The Anne McLaren Building was rapidly adapted in six weeks – an operation which would usually take six months – to become part of the government’s national diagnostic lab network. Dozens of members of the School volunteered their time and expertise. The centre processed more than 3 million tests during the pandemic, testimony to Cambridge’s world-leading research and the power of proximity.
Intensive care unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital. Image: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC) was illuminated in blue in April 2020 to honour the work of the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Image: Lloyd Mann.
Leading the Pandemic Response
Academics and clinicians at the School were at the forefront of the national response to COVID.
Dr Nick Matheson was the principal architect of the asymptomatic screening programme at Cambridge.
Professor Sharon Peacock led the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium and was awarded the MRC Millennium Medal for her pioneering and crucial work on pathogen sequencing and was appointed CBE for her services to medical microbiology.
Dr Mike Weekes established the healthcare worker screening programme and was awarded a British Empire Medal for his services to the NHS during the pandemic.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Public Health
Cambridge Public Health (CPH) was established in 2020 as an interdisciplinary research centre, uniting over 600 researchers and professionals across the University.
CPH addresses critical public health issues in a rapidly changing world. The centre's output is anchored in five public health research pillars: Life-course and Ageing, Health Inequalities, Global Health, Sustainability and Public Mental Health.
The leadership of CPH reflects its broad and interdisciplinary approach to public health: Nora Pashayan, Professor of the Epidemiology of Ageing in the School of Clinical Medicine; John Clarkson, Professor of Engineering Design in the School of Technology; Gordon Harold, Professor of the Psychology of Education and Mental Health in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
A Preparing for Patients Session. Image: Nick Saffell.
Half a Century of General Practice Education in Cambridge
At the same time as the new School, the role of Director of General Practice Studies was established. Dr Bernard Reiss, who had introduced vocational training for prospective GPs, was appointed in 1976 as the first Director of General Practice Studies in Cambridge. There, he pioneered the use of General Practice to teach medicine to clinical students. Roy Acheson was appointed Foundation Professor of Community Medicine in 1977. Together Acheson and Reiss created the Health Services Research Group in 1980 to address regional concerns of community medicine leaders.
Another key milestone for GP education in Cambridge was the appointment of Ann Louise Kinmonth as Foundation Chair of General Practice in 1997. Kinmonth, whose career has championed academic training in Primary Care and interdisciplinary approaches to reducing health inequalities, was appointed CBE for Services to Primary Care Research in 2002.
Today, the General Practice Education Group (GPEG) at Cambridge is a centre of excellence in the scholarship and delivery of healthcare education. Medical students spend one fifth of their clinical placement time – about 20 weeks – in a network of 180 GP surgeries across the East of England. As Clinical Dean, Dr Diana Wood prioritised the increase in this GP placement time, and as Associate Dean Dr John Benson was integral to the establishment of funding required to teach clinical students in GP surgeries.
Innovation and Enterprise
The School of Clinical Medicine is an exceptional environment for life sciences entrepreneurship. With world‑leading research and a collaborative ecosystem, innovative ventures have sprung from the School community.
In the last decade alone, the School has fostered over 90 spinouts and start-ups.
Transforming outcomes for breast cancer patients
Professor Jean Abraham leads Cambridge's Precision Breast Cancer Institute and is an Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at Addenbrooke's Hospital.
Jean led the PARTNER study – a neoadjuvant BRCA positive and triple negative early breast cancer trial which investigated the benefit of adding novel targeted agents to standard chemotherapy. Standard treatment aims to reduce the size of the tumour through chemotherapy and immunotherapy before surgical removal. The PARTNER trial took the innovative approach of a 48-hour gap between chemotherapy and olaparib, a targeted cancer drug taken as a tablet.
With a 100% survival rate, this trial shows incredible promise for the development of more effective, safer and kinder ways to treat aggressive cancers.
Revolutionising early detection
Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald – Head of the Department of Oncology, Director of the Early Cancer Institute, and Honorary Consultant in Cancer Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital – is spearheading research to implement the capsule sponge. She was appointed OBE for services to cancer research.
This 'pill-on-a-thread' is a quick, simple, and inexpensive test to detect Barrett’s oesophagus, an indicator of potential oesophageal cancer. Early detection could halve the number of deaths from the disease each year, and the test has already made a difference to thousands of patients.
The development of the capsule sponge was collaborative, with contributions from laboratory scientists, clinicians, bioengineers, public health and clinical trial experts, as well as patient and public feedback.
A post-Ozempic world
Giles Yeo – Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology and programme leader at the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit in Cambridge – was appointed MBE for services to research, communication and engagement. Giles is also Honorary President of the British Dietetic Association.
His keynote talk at the Cambridge Festival in 2026 explained the mechanisms of action of GLP-1R agonists, including semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Giles discussed their importance as a therapeutic for obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease and, crucially, whether they are safe in the long term.
The Global Impact of Health Research at Cambridge
Our researchers have shaped key healthcare advancements. Explore more stories of that global impact here.
The Global Impact of Health Research at Cambridge
Our researchers have shaped key healthcare advancements. Explore more stories of that global impact here.
A patient at Addenbrooke's has the pioneering histotripsy treatment in 2025. A degassed water bath transmits the focused ultrasound waves to the tumour area. The installation of the Edison Histotripsy System at Addenbrooke’s was made possible by a generous donation from the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Image: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre (DISC) is a state-of-the-art global R&D facility where over 2,000 scientists work in drug discovery and development.
The new slate plaque for the School was commissioned from the Cardozo Kindersley workshop in 2021.
2024
Ann Prentice, former Director of the MRC Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, appointed CBE for services to British and global public health nutrition.
2024
Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, appointed CBE for services to research in human cognitive processes.
2024
Professor David Menon, founder of the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, appointed CBE for services to neurocritical care.
2024
UK government gives green light for Cambridge Children's Hospital.
2024
Cancer Research UK announce £9.2m funding for Cambridge to train early-career clinician scientists as part of the charity’s Clinical Academic Training Programme.
A Leading Life Sciences Ecosystem
The School sits at the heart of Europe's largest centre for biomedical innovation.
The city's largest employment site, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) is a thriving community of collaboration between academia, research, industry and healthcare partners.
The Campus was named as the top science and technology-intensive cluster in the 2024 Global Innovation Index.
Read about how co-location drives innovation at CBC in the Power of Proximity 2025 Report.
A Leading Life Sciences Ecosystem
The School sits at the heart of Europe's largest centre for biomedical innovation.
The city's largest employment site, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) is a thriving community of collaboration between academia, research, industry and healthcare partners.
The Campus was named as the top science and technology-intensive cluster in the 2024 Global Innovation Index.
Read about how co-location drives innovation at CBC in the Power of Proximity 2025 Report.
An aerial drone video flies from east to west over the Addenbrooke's roundabout, above the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC).
people work on CBC site
daily visitors to CBC
generated by CBC activities for UK economy annually
NHS patients treated annually on CBC site
Talk to any clinician or scientist on Campus and they’ll have a story about collaboration or an idea that sprang out of an impromptu coffee, a walk between buildings or queueing for a sandwich. When I’m on Campus, I know I don’t have far to travel for a stimulating conversation. Whether popping over to the HLRI or to the café at the CRUK-CI, I’ll inevitably run into someone doing something remarkable.
Kristin-Anne Rutter, Executive Director, Cambridge University Health Partners
Talk to any clinician or scientist on Campus and they’ll have a story about collaboration or an idea that sprang out of an impromptu coffee, a walk between buildings or queueing for a sandwich. When I’m on Campus, I know I don’t have far to travel for a stimulating conversation. Whether popping over to the HLRI or to the café at the CRUK-CI, I’ll inevitably run into someone doing something remarkable.
Kristin-Anne Rutter, Executive Director, Cambridge University Health Partners
Cambridge University Medical Education Group (CUMEG)
A recent addition to the School of Clinical Medicine, CUMEG was established in 2020 to provide consultancy medical education support to medical schools, universities, government bodies, and other external organisations.
Since then, CUMEG has engaged with universities and other organisations from countries including Albania, China, India, Malaysia, Morocco, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Vietnam.
In 2025, CUMEG’s Medical Education Professional Development Programme was accredited by the Academy of Medical Educators at Membership level, and delivered an inaugural Assessment Masterclass attended by international delegates from a range of health professions. For those interested in their own professional development, CUMEG also offers educational resources for professional development, including a series of podcasts supporting medical education specialists.
2024
Deepak Jadon Community Impact Prize established to recognise students who make outstanding contributions during placement or within the School community.
2024
Raj Jena becomes UK's first Professor of AI in Radiotherapy at Cambridge.
2024
Regius Professor of Physic Patrick Maxwell appointed CBE for services to medical research.
2025
UK government gives green light for Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.
2025
COVID-19 vaccine pioneer BioNTech announces new facilities on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
2025
Michael Nicholson, Professor of Transplant Surgery and Consultant Surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, appointed OBE for services to kidney transplantation.
2025
Gordon Dougan, Department of Medicine Emeritus Professor, appointed CBE for services to vaccines and to global health.
2025
MSt in Healthcare Data Science welcomes first students.
2025
Ravi Gupta, Professor of Clinical Microbiology at CITIID 2018-2025, appointed as the newly established Hong Kong Jockey Club Chair in Global Health at Cambridge.
2025
Cambridge Centre for Children’s Gut Health opens.
2025
CUH NHS Foundation Trust becomes first in Europe to deliver histotripsy treatment to a patient outside of a clinical trial, a landmark in NHS cancer care made possible by a generous donation from the Li Ka Shing Foundation.
2026
Professor Sheila Bird, Emeritus Programme Leader at the MRC Biostatistics Unit, appointed DBE for services to statistics.
2026
Dr Ayla Humphrey, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry appointed MBE for services to young people with acquired brain injuries.
2026
GSK announces £400m investment for a new research and development facility on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.