Dr Robert J. Williams

Dr Robert J. Williams is Chief Drug Development Scientist at Cancer Research UK (CRUK)’s Centre for Drug Development. At CRUK, he has overseen the delivery of more than 30 drug candidates into first-in-human clinical trials, including cell therapies, vaccines, antibodies, and small molecules. He has previously held scientific leadership positions in metabolic and inflammatory diseases at Glaxo and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer.

Dr Williams has also worked in biotech and during his time at Prolifix, led the pre-clinical characterisation and early development of Belinostat, now an approved medicine for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Robert acts as a scientific advisor to several non-commercial and commercial research organisations and lectures in drug development on several MSc courses. He is also a trustee of the PTEN Research Foundation and the co-founder of Duke Street Bio, a virtual drug discovery and development company focused on exploiting cancer vulnerabilities.