Tony Kouzarides is Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Cambridge. He is Director and Co-founder of the Milner Therapeutics Institute and Senior Group Leader at the Gurdon Institute. He is recognised as one of the ten leading scientists (across all scientific disciplines) at the University of Cambridge during the period 1996–2017.
Professor Kouzarides was born in Famagusta, Cyprus, in 1958. He became a refugee during the events of 1974 and subsequently moved to the United Kingdom. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Leeds and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He carried out postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and at the New York University Medical Center.
His research group at the Gurdon Institute focuses on epigenetic modifications and their role in cancer. He discovered one of the first chromatin-modifying enzymes, CBP, contributing significantly to the emergence of the modern era of Epigenetics. He also discovered the chemical compound iBET as an effective therapeutic approach against acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). More recently, he has pioneered a new field of RNA Epigenetics, with his research leading to the identification of RNA-modifying enzymes involved in cancer.
Professor Kouzarides has published extensively in leading international scientific journals and has founded biotechnology companies involved in drug development and scientific instrumentation. He has received numerous international awards and distinctions for his contributions to Medicine and related sciences, including the Wellcome Trust Medal, the Tenovus Medal in Molecular Medicine (United Kingdom), the Bodossaki Foundation Prize in Biology (Greece), the Bijvoet Medal (Netherlands), the Biochemical Society Award – Novartis Medal and Prize (United Kingdom), and the Heinrich Wieland Prize (Germany).
