• Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Science 2007
• Fellow of Royal College of Pathologists 2000
• DSc 1999
• Honorary Membership to the Royal College of Physicians 1998
• PhD Medicine 1997
• BSc (Hons) Medical Biochemistry 1981

Lawrence Young qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham in 1981. He went on to study for a PhD in Medicine before joining the Department of Cancer Studies in 1984. Apart from a couple of brief spells in the USA, Lawrence has continued to work in Birmingham studying the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of cancer.

Lawrence was awarded a DSc in 1999 and his contribution to clinical research was acknowledged with the conferment of an Honorary Membership to the Royal College of Physicians in 1998 and by election as a member of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1993 subsequently becoming a Fellow in 2000. He was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Science in 2007.

Lawrence became Head of Division of Cancer Studies and Director of the Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies in 2001. He was appointed Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences in January 2008.

Teaching Programmes

• BMedSci 3
• Clinical Oncology MSc/PG Dip

Lawrence is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• The role of EBV in pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lymphomas in the immunosuppressed.
• Gene Therapy of Common Cancers: Immunological and Pharmacological Approaches to Cancer Treatment

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Lawrence on the contact deatils above, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email: dr@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call +44 (0)121 414 5005.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.   

Lawrence is listed amongst the World’s most cited scientists in the ISI’s (Institute for Scientific Information) list of Highly Cited Researchers having published over 200 research papers in scientific journals as well as reviews and book chapters in the fields of virology, cancer and tumour immunology. He has received major grants from Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia Research Fund and the Medical Research Council. His research has resulted in several key discoveries including: (i) the existence of different forms of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latency in virus-associated tumours; (ii) the first demonstration of the pattern of EBV gene expression in post-transplant lymphomas, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma; and (iii) the signalling function of EBV-encoded latent proteins.

Lawrence also has an interest in the epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and how this relates to the development of cervical cancer. This work resulted in the first publication employing PCR analysis to detect HPV infection in cervical smear samples. He has also led on a programme of gene and immunotherapy research that has resulted in a number of phase I/II clinical trials in liver cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma.

Lawrence has been a member of grant awarding panels of the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the Leukaemia Research Fund and was vice-Chair of the UoA2 panel in RAE2008. He was President of the International Association for Research on Epstein-Barr Virus and Associated Diseases (2008-2010). He is Chair of the Research Adwards Committee of CORE (an AMRC registered charity supporting research into gut, liver, intestinal and bowel diseases) and serves as a member of the Yorkshire Cancer Research Scientific Advisory Committee. He is Chair of the International Advisory Panel for the UGC Area of Excellence Centre for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Research in Hong Kong. Lawrence has served as a member of a number of journal editorial boards and is a regular reviewer of papers for major international journals.

Lawrence has wide experience of the commercial sector both at the small biotechnology and multi-national company level. He was one of the directors of a fledgling gene therapy company (Cobra Therapeutics) that subsequently merged with ML Laboratories and led to the establishment of Cobra Biomanufacturing plc (at Keele Science Park). He has consulted for a number of pharmaceutical companies and played a key role as a consultant for GSK on their HPV vaccine programme. He is currently Director of (i) Alta Innovations Ltd, the technology transfer company for the University of Birmingham, (ii) Bioscience Ventures Ltd, a new joint venture between the University of Birmingham and Abingdon Health Ltd aimed at developing and marketing new diagnostics products for the healthcare and other industries, and (iii) Alta Bioscience Ltd, a technology and manufacturing technology company.

Lawrence is an enthusiastic communicator on the theme of biomedical research/STEM and gives frequent talks to various groups at both the local and national level; these include talks to CRUK fundraisers, various cancer support groups, CRUK legacy events and local schools. He frequently contributes to both the local and national media and continues to advise the national BBC on cancer-related stories. This has resulted in a wide-range of exposure including interviews with most of the national newspapers and contributions on Radio 4, the World Service, BBC News 24 and BBC News at 10. He also won a prize in the THES Science Limerick Competition in 2004!

• Chair of Research Awards Committee, CORE, a charity supporting research into gut and liver disease
• Member of Yorkshire Cancer Research Scientific Advisory Committee
• Director of Alta Innovations Ltd
• Director of Bioscience Ventures Ltd
• Director of AltaBioscience Ltd
• Non-Executive Director of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital from 2008 - 2010
• President of the International Association for Research on Epstein-Barr Virus and Associated Diseases from 2008 - 2010

T Elmetwali, LS Young, D Palmer (2010) CD40 ligand-induced carcinoma cell death: a balance between activation of TNFR-associated factor (TRAF) 3-dependent death signals and suppression of TRAF6-dependent survival signals.
Journal of Immunology 184 1111-20

R Valentine, CW Dawson, C Hu, KM Shah, TJ Owen, KL Date, SMP Maia, J Shao, JR Arrand, LS Young, JD O'Neil (2010) Epstein-Barr virus-encoded EBNA1 inhibits the canonical NF-kappa B pathway in carcinoma cells by inhibiting IKK phosphorylation
Molecular Cancer 9 1

KM Shah, SE Stewart, W Wei, CBJ Woodman, JD O'Neil, CW Dawson, LS Young (2009) The EBV-encoded latent membrane proteins, LMP2A and LMP2B, limit the actions of interferon by targeting interferon receptors for degradation
Oncogene 28 3903-14

KM Shah, LS Young (2009) Epstein-Barr virus and carcinogenesis: beyond Burkitt's lymphoma
Clinical Microbiology and Infection 15 982-988

SI Collins, TP Rollason, LS Young, CBJ Woodman (2009) Cigarette smoking is an independent risk factor for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in young women: A longitudinal study
European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990)

MA Morris, CW Dawson, LS Young (2009) Role of the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein-1, LMP1, in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Future Oncology 5 811-825

SI Collins, CM Constandinou-Williams, K Wen, LS Young, S Roberts, PG Murray, CBJ Woodman (2009) Disruption of the E2 gene is a common and early event in the natural history of cervical human papillomavirus infection: a longitudinal cohort study.
Cancer research 69 3828-32

P Patel, JG Young, V Mautner, D Ashdown, SL Bonney, RG Pineda, SI Collins, PF Searle, D Hull, E Peers, J Chester, DM Wallace, A Doherty, H Leung, LS Young, ND James (2009) A Phase I/II Clinical Trial in Localized Prostate Cancer of an Adenovirus Expressing Nitroreductase with CB1984
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy