Dr Francis Mussai MA(Oxon) BM BCh DPhil MRCPCH FRCP(Edin)

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Physicians of Edinburgh, 2016
• CESR in Paediatric Oncology, 2012
• DPhil in Clinical Medicine, Magdalen College, University of Oxford, 2012
• Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2007
• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (USMLE), USA, 2007
• BM BCh, Christ Church College, University of Oxford
• MA (Oxon) in Physiological Sciences, St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford

Francis read Medicine at the University of Oxford graduating in 2004. He developed an interest in Paediatric Oncology through early clinical experience with the late Dr John Pritchard. Francis went on to complete his General Paediatrics training at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford under the stewardship of Dr Chris Mitchell.

In 2007, Francis was accepted onto the Johns Hopkins-National Institutes of Health Joint Fellowship Program in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (USA) and underwent sub-speciality training. Whilst at the NIH, he begun doctoral studies, through a Wellcome Trust-NIH Studentship. Under the mentorship of Dr Ira Pastan and Dr Alan Wayne, Francis investigated the cytotoxicity of a novel anti-CD22 immunotoxin against paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

In 2010, Francis returned to the University of Oxford to complete his doctoral studies in the late Professor Vincenzo Cerundolo’s laboratory. Here he identified the critical role of Arginase II as the mechanism by which Acute Myeloid Leukaemia blasts create an immunosuppressive niche and suppress haematopoiesis.

In 2012, Francis moved to Birmingham to lead a research group investigating the immunosuppressive microenvironment created by malignancies and development new treatment approaches.

Clinically, Francis is an honorary Paediatric Oncology Consultant at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. He continues to work on the development of early phase clinical trials for adult and paediatric cancers and rare diseases. He is a member of the Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC) European Clinical Trials Committee and is an invited member of clinical trial and drug development panels nationally. He is involved in teaching within the hospital and University and has established an International Clinical Fellowship program within the clinical department.

• Paediatric Haematology-Oncology International Clinical Fellow program - Lead
• MBChB Year 5 Paediatric Course
• MSc Clinical Oncology: Pathology of Cancer and Paediatric Oncology modules

Francis supervises pre- and post- doctoral research students who are interested in the immunology of paediatric and adult cancers or investigating the activity of novel targeted therapies.   The group contains a number of technical, undergraduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral staff. The group welcomes applications from prospective doctoral or post-doctoral candidates who wish to apply for Fellowship/ Grant programs to join the team.

Francis leads a laboratory research group, at the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham. The group is focused on investigating and targeting the immunosuppressive microenvironment in adult and paediatric malignancies, and the development and translation of novel therapeutic strategies. In particular the group has focused on the role of aberrant amino acid metabolism in the promotion of tumour growth and escape from autologous and engineered-immune responses. A number of preclinical research projects are currently underway and they collaborate actively with local, national, and international academic and industrial investigators to develop their findings.

Working with collaborators the laboratory has supported the translational research alongside 5 international clinical trials in cancer and diseases, and are leading on the clinical development of a number of immunotherapy strategies – including immunotoxin, therapeutic recombinant enzyme, and cell based therapies (CAR-T). The group’s work has been translated into international Phase I and II clinical drug trials and the intellectual property has led to patent filings and commercialisation.

The Mussai laboratory is delighted to have collaborations across the globe and is keen to foster new developments that lead to patient benefit. The group are actively engaged in improving public awareness through coverage in the media, online blogs, and biennial research showcase days. The group are grateful for all the research that has been generously funded by donors to the University of Birmingham, local charities, and national funding agencies.

We welcome enquiries interested in finding out more about our work or how to contribute to our research funding.

• Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Oncology at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital