Robert Metcalf
Dr. Metcalf is a Medical Oncologist at The Christie Hospital and an Honorary Reader at The University of Manchester, specialising in the treatment of Head and Neck Cancers, with a particular academic focus on Salivary Gland Cancers. He is the co-founder of Salivary Gland Cancer UK and co-Chair of the Salivary Gland Cancer UK Research Working Group.
He earned his Medical Degree (MBChB) from the University of Manchester in 2004, where he also received a First Class BSc in Health Care Ethics and Law. In 2007, he became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) and completed his Medical Oncology Higher Specialist training in 2015.
After his specialist training, Dr. Metcalf was awarded a PhD for his work from 2012 to 2016, which included a Clinical Fellowship at the Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology Lab led by Prof. Caroline Dive C.B.E. at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. During this period, he studied circulating tumour cells as a 'liquid biopsy' and aided in developing new pre-clinical models to study cancer biology.
Post-PhD, Dr. Metcalf engaged in post-doctoral research on tumour immunology in Head and Neck Cancers at the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at the University of Manchester under Prof. Tracy Hussell.
Since 2017, his work has been supported by Academic Grants from the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, which includes funding from Cancer Research UK, NIHR, The University of Manchester, and The Christie Charity, as well as the US-based Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation. He has also received philanthropic grants from the Infrastructure Industry Foundation, Syncona Foundation, The Christie Charity, and donations from patients, their friends, and families.
His ongoing research focused on salivary gland cancers and with a specific focus on adenoid cystic carcinoma, funded through The Christie Charity, is The Ella Project, named in honour of a patient who played a pivotal role in establishing the UK's research program into Salivary Gland Cancers