Fran Balkwill

Frances Rosemary Balkwill (born 1952) is an English scientist, Professor of Cancer Biology at Queen Mary University of London, and author of children's books about scientific topics.

Early life and education

Balkwill was born in south-west London in 1952, and was educated at Surbiton High School. She obtained a BSc in Cellular Pathology at the University of Bristol and a PhD on leukaemia cell biology in the Medical Oncology Department at St Bartholomew's Hospital supervised by Gordon Hamilton Fairley.

Career

She worked for several years at the ICRF Lincoln's Inn Fields (now Cancer Research UK London Research Institute) on the effect of interferon on cancer. In 2000 she moved to Queen Mary, University of London, where she is Professor of Cancer Biology and Director of the Centre for Translational Oncology in the Cancer Research UK Clinical Cancer Centre. and is Director of Centre of the Cell, a science education centre for children in the new Barts and The London Medical School building in Whitechapel, east London.

Awards and honours In 2008 Balkwill was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE).

She won the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Award for Communication in the Life Sciences in 2004. In 2006 she was awarded Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) for her contributions to and achievements in medicine.

In 2017 she was awarded the Inspiring Leadership in Research Engagement Prize from Cancer Research UK.

In 2021 she received the Beetlestone Award, recognising her leadership and legacy in the field of informal science learning.

In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

Personal life

Balkwill has two children, Jessica and Barnaby. She has 5 grandchildren Sabrina, Esme, Casper, Balthazar and Aurelius.