Cancer Research UK researchers and supporters celebrated in New Year Honours

Borys was involved in Europe’s first trial of an HPV therapeutic vaccine, for which he received a Knighthood in 2001. These research interests have led him to play a critical role in our 20-year plan to improve cervical cancer rates in the UK and around the world.  

A spotlight on cancer research 

Professor Jack Martin Cuzick 

Professor Jack Martin Cuzick was awarded a Knighthood for services to epidemiology.  

Cuzick’s groundbreaking research on breast cancer first showed that women receiving tamoxifen had a reduced risk of contralateral cancers and long-term recurrence. He also led the Cancer Research UK-funded ISIB-I study which showed that tamoxifen reduces the risk of breast cancer in women at increased risk of the disease. 

His seminal work has also led to major improvements in prevention and screening of cervical cancer. He led the Cancer Research UK-funded HART trial, which compared HPV testing with conventional cytology for screening. This has led to primary HPV testing being widely used in the UK and elsewhere and his recent studies of self-sampling are likely to lead to increased uptake of screening among unscreened women. 

Professor Peter David Sasieni 

Professor Peter David Sasieni was awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to cancer early detection and prevention.  

Sasieni is Professor of Cancer Epidemiology and joint lead of the Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis based in Queen Mary’s Wolfson Institute of Population Health. He is also Director of the Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Trials Unit at Queen Mary. 

Sasieni is internationally recognised for his transformational work on the design and execution of clinical trials in cancer early detection and prevention.  

He is best known for his work on cervical screening and HPV infection and was the lead author of a landmark study that we funded that showed the HPV vaccine dramatically reduced cervical cancer rates by almost 90% in women in their 20s who were offered it at ages 12 to 13. 

He has also been involved in research into the early detection of Barrett’s oesophagus and the prevention of oesophageal cancer. He is currently working with Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald on BEST4 Screening, a trial part-funded by Cancer Research UK testing whether the capsule sponge can be used to screen people with chronic heartburn for early signs of oesophageal cancer. 

Honouring our supporters and campaigners 

Lady Estelle Wolfson 

Lady Estelle Wolfson was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to medical research and to the arts.  

Lady Wolfson is the Founding Trustee of The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation which was established in 2012. Through her Foundation Lady Wolfson supported the Create the Change campaign to build the Francis Crick Institute in 2014, and since then has supported PhD students in Sir Paul Nurse’s Cell Cycle laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute for more than 10 years.  

In 2018, she was made a Cancer Research UK Member and has contributed widely to the organisation through her involvement. 

Susan Mountain 

Susan (Sue) Mountain was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to public health and supporting people to give up smoking.  

Sue has been a passionate advocate supporting others to quit smoking and campaigning for policy changes to end the harms of tobacco, over many years with Fresh, and more recently as a Cancer Research UK volunteer Campaigns Ambassador. 

Sue spoke at the launch of the Khan Review: making smoking obsolete, sharing her experiences with smoking and three separate incidences of laryngeal cancer. She also supported our Smokefree UK petition hand-in to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street. 

In addition to fronting many quit-smoking public health campaigns with Fresh, DHSC and especially campaigns in the North East where smoking rates are high, as a Campaigns Ambassador Sue has engaged the support and advocacy of her MP, Emma Lewell-Buck and recently co-authored our open letter from Campaigns Ambassadors, calling on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to bring legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco to Parliament without delay. 

Violet Phillips 

Violet Phillips was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for charitable services. After her own cancer diagnosis, Violet has been actively involved in organising Maghera’s ‘Big Breakfast’ which has raised tens of thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK since it started more than 20 years ago. 

Ivan Black 

Ivan Black has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to charitable fundraising in Northern Ireland. Ivan started raising money for cancer charities 35 years ago after his brother Ian died from leukaemia at the age of 23. He also lost his sister at 47 to breast cancer and his father to stomach cancer. Since then, he has raised more than £700,000 for charities, including Cancer Research UK. 

Congratulations to all the honourees 

These are just a few of the many people that have been recognised for their work related to cancer in this year’s New Year Honours. We extend our sincere congratulations to all the honourees and wish everyone a happy 2025.