Professor Sir Mark Caulfield departs Genomics England
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield will be leaving his role as Chief Scientist at Genomics England at the end of July 2021 to take up the position of Chief Executive at Barts Life Sciences. Although we are sad to see him leave, we hope to continue collaborating with him to advance genomic medicine and are excited to see what he can achieve in his new role.
Mark departs with our gratitude and best wishes, having achieved much during his seven-year tenure with Genomics England. After being charged by Sir John Chisholm to lead the scientific oversight and delivery of the 100,000 Genomes Project in 2013, he was integral to that project’s success and was consequently awarded a knighthood in 2019.
More recently he has worked with NHS England in the creation of the National Genomic Test Directory and the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, which offers equitable access for 56 million people to appropriate genomic tests, and has co-authored two important papers on COVID-19.
In short, Mark leaves an extraordinary legacy of scientific achievement at Genomics England for his successor and the wider team to build upon.
In his new role at Barts Life Sciences, a research and innovation partnership between Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust, he will be leading the development of a world-leading life sciences campus at Whitechapel in partnership with key stakeholders and a community of 2.5 million people. The focus of Barts Life Sciences will be on digital health, genomics and clinical innovation that can transform healthcare and deliver.
I am delighted and privileged to have led the 100,000 Genomes Project and to have played a major role in creating the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. I am excited to take up this important role at Barts Life Sciences so we can mobilise a new major Life Sciences centre at Queen Mary and Barts Health as a key part of the UK Life Sciences strategy. I am committed to maximising the benefit for our diverse community in east London and transform healthcare opportunities for the NHS and the global community. I would like to thank all at Genomics England for their support and dedication over the past 8 years and encourage them to pursue further transformation of genomics in healthcare.
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield
Chief Scientist at Genomics England
We’d like to place on record our thanks to Mark for all his work with Genomics England, in particular his scientific leadership of the 100,000 Genome Project. The UK continues to lead the world in genomic medicine, which is in part attributable to Mark’s significant contribution. We’re very much looking forward to seeing how he gets on at Barts and wish him well moving forward. His outstanding legacy will endure, as the next generation of scientific leadership at Genomics England picks up the baton.
Chris Wigley
CEO of Genomics England
We would like to thank Professor Sir Mark Caulfield for his long and distinctive service at Genomics England, and wish him all the best in his new role. We hope that Barts Life Sciences, like Genomics England, can play a leading role in the UK’s “science superpower” aspirations.
Baroness Nicola Blackwood
Chair of Genomics England
