Professor Richard T. Bryan MBChB PhD MRCS FAcadTM

Professor Richard T Bryan

Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre
Professor in Urothelial Cancer Research

Contact details

Address
Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
Robert Aitken Institute for Clinical Research
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Rik Bryan is a former clinical urologist, and now a full-time bladder cancer research academic. He is the Chief Investigator of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP), the SELENIB clinical trial, and POUT-T. He is the Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre (BCRC) in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. The BCRC has a particular interest in the proteomics, genomics and epigenomics of bladder cancer and related biomarkers, and novel agents, technologies and pathways.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Academy of Translational Medicine 2016
  • PhD in Medicine 2007
  • Membership of The Royal College of Surgeons of England 1999
  • MBChB 1995

Biography

Rik Bryan qualified in Medicine at the University of Birmingham and subsequently entered surgical training. After completing a PhD in bladder cancer biology he became a higher surgical trainee in Urology. After 4-years as a Specialist Registrar, Rik left clinical urology to assist with the set-up of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP) in the Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Birmingham, and was then subsequently appointed as a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Cancer Sciences. Rik is now the Chief Investigator of BCPP, which incorporates the SELENIB clinical trial.

Rik has an interest in all aspects of bladder cancer research and directs the Bladder Cancer Research Centre (BCRC) with a focus on translation. The particular interests of the BCRC include cancer proteomics/genomics/epigenomics, urinary biomarkers, novel therapeutics/technologies/devices, and clinical and epidemiological research. Rik has a track record of publication in all of these areas.

The BCRC also has an interest in upper tract urothelial cancer, and Rik is the Chief Investigator of POUT-T, the translational study linked to the POUT trial.

Postgraduate supervision

  • Intercalated BMedSci
  • MRes
  • PhD

Research

  • Genomics and epigenomics, and associated biomarkers for non-invasive diagnosis and prognostication
  • Novel genomic platforms and approaches
  • Proteomics and urinary protein biomarkers
  • Novel therapeutics, technologies and devices and associated clinical trials
  • Tumour immunology and BCG mechanisms of action
  • Clinical, epidemiological and health economic research.

Aside from the research carried out at the University of Birmingham, the Bladder Cancer Group also has a number of important national and international collaborations with other bladder cancer investigators, including Professor Maurice Zeegers (Maastricht), Professor John Kelly (UCL), Professor Bart Kiemeney (Radboud), Professor Chris Probert (Liverpool), Dr Anne Kiltie (Oxford) and Professor Chas Bountra (Oxford).

Other activities

Aside from his bladder cancer research at the University of Birmingham, Rik also fulfils a number of other roles:

  • Member of the University of Birmingham’s Clinical Trials Oversight Committee (CTOC)
  • Member of the Bladder GeCIP, 100,000 Genomes Project
  • Trustee of the charity Action Bladder Cancer UK
  • Member of the T2 and Below Subgroup (TABS) of the NCRI Bladder & Renal Clinical Studies Group
  • Council Member and current Honorary Secretary of The Royal Society of Medicine Section of Urology
  • Member of the Trial Management Group of the Peri-Operative Chemotherapy versus Surveillance in Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (POUT) trial
  • Member of the Trial Management Group of the Clinical Research Office of the Endourology Society (CROES) multicentre randomised trial of narrow band imaging-assisted transurethral resection (TURBT) versus conventional white light-assisted TURBT in primary non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Humayun-Zakaria, N, Tura, BJ, Van Hemelrijck, M & Bryan, BJ 2026, 'Aligning Bladder Cancer Research with Patient Needs: An update on research priorities', BJU international.

Tian, Y, Tura, B, Abbotts, B, Zeegers, MP, Cheng, KK, James, ND & Bryan, RT 2026, 'Clinical outcomes of BCG-treated high-risk NMIBC patients according to pre- and post-2021 EAU risk classifications', BJU international.

Chen, Y-T, Sui, J, Yang, Y, Zhang, H, Wesselius, A, Shen, Y, Qin, Q-R, Sun, G-J, Wang, S-K, Wang, X-D, Wang, S, Li, W-C, Cheng, KK, James, ND, Bryan, RT, Zeegers, MP, Chen, L, Xia, H & Yu, EY-W 2026, 'Integration of gut microbiome and lipid metabolism reveals the anti-cancer effects of pentadecanoic acid on bladder cancer', BMC medicine, vol. 24, no. 1, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04554-5

Goel, A, Tura, BJ, Stockton, JD, Tovey, N, Ames, L, Beggs, AD, Zeegers, MP, James, ND, Cheng, KK, Bryan, RT, Ward, DG & Arnold, R 2025, 'Detection of genome-wide methylation changes in bladder cancer by long-read sequencing of urinary DNA', Clinical epigenetics, vol. 17, no. 1, 141. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-025-01946-5

BladderPath Collaborative Group, Bryan, RT, Liu, W, Pirrie, SJ, Amir, R, Gallagher, J, Hughes, A, Jefferson, KP, Knight, A, Nanton, V, Mintz, H, Pope, AM, Cherian, J, Ekwueme, K, Gommersall, L, Hellawell, G, Hunter-Campbell, P, Kandaswamy, GV, Kotwal, S, Kumar, V, Mak, D, Mohee, A, Nambirajan , T, Ward, DG, Kennish, S, Catto, J, Patel, P & James, ND 2025, 'Randomized Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Versus Transurethral Resection for Staging New Bladder Cancers: Results From the Prospective BladderPath Trial', Journal of Clinical Oncology . https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.23.02398

Abstract

James, ND, Pirrie, S, Liu, W, Gallagher, J, Hughes, A, Jefferson, K, Nanton, V, Knight, A, Mintz, HP, Pope, A, Ward, D, Hafeez, S, Patel, P, Catto, JWF & Bryan, R 2025, 'LBA111 Randomized comparison of upfront magnetic resonance imaging versus transurethral resection for staging new bladder cancers: Final survival analysis from the BladderPath trial', Annals of Oncology, vol. 36, no. Supplement 2, pp. S1767-S1767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2025.09.130

Comment/debate

Bryan, RT, Patel, K & Ward, DG 2026, 'The nascent role of circulating tumour DNA in the management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer', BJU international.

Unsworth-White, S, Humayun-Zakaria, N & Bryan, RT 2025, 'Balancing risks and benefits in the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer', Translational Andrology and Urology, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1-3. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau-24-529

Bryan, RT, Patel, P, Kennish, SJ, Catto, JWF, James, ND & BladderPath Collaborative Group 2025, 'Improving the pathway to correct treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer: exploring the myths around the BladderPath trial', BJU International , vol. 136, no. 1, pp. 34-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/bju.16728

Ward, DG, Bryan, RT, Chaudhuri, AA, Hadfield, J, Perez-Boza, J, Steenbergen, RDM, Vega, DM, Whiting, J, Wyatt, AW & Dyrskjøt, L 2025, 'Unlocking the potential of urine-based liquid biopsy through improved reporting and standardization', Nature Reviews Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-025-00882-z

Editorial

Ward, D & Bryan, R 2025, 'Should We Incorporate Urinary Tumour DNA Status in Treatment Decisions for Patients with Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer?', European urology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2025.04.025

Letter

BinHumaid, FS, Goel, A, Gordon, NS, Abbotts, B, Tura, BJ, Cheng, KK, Zeegers, MP, James, ND, Altaweel, W, Seyam, R, Alotaibi, M, Arnold, R, Ward, DG & Bryan, RT 2025, 'Circulating Tumour DNA Positivity Predicts Shorter Survival for Patients with High-grade pT1 Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma', European urology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2025.11.007

Collett, G, Bashford, T, Whitehead, NJ, Kazimierska, E, Swamy, GVK, Jones, RJ, Van Hemelrijck, M & Bryan, RT 2025, 'Occupational incidence of bladder cancer amongst veteran ammunition technicians of the British Army', BJU International . https://doi.org/10.1111/bju.16678

Yu, M, Goel, A, Tura, B, Whalley, CM, Cheng, KK, Zeegers, MP, James, ND, Dyrskjøt, L, Ward, DG, Bryan, RT & Arnold, R 2025, 'Towards Epigenetic-based Subtyping of Bladder Cancer: DNA Methylation Predicts Molecular Subtypes of Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer', European urology, vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 579-581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2025.02.011

Review article

Ghodoussipour, S, Bivalacqua, T, Bryan, RT, Li, R, Mir, MC, Palou, J, Psutka, SP, Sundi, D, Tyson, MD & Inman, BA 2025, 'A Systematic Review of Novel Intravesical Approaches for the Treatment of Patients with Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer', European urology, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 33-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2025.02.010

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Bladder Cancer