A Cardiff legacy: Sir Leszek Borysiewicz on science, leadership, and the future of medicine.#
Sir Leszek explores his early days in Cardiff, the career decisions that shaped his path, and the contributions he hopes to leave for future generations of scientists.
Abour Sir Leszek Borysiewicz#
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz is an esteemed medical researcher, academic leader, and public health advocate. His career has spanned several prestigious roles, including Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, and Deputy Rector of Imperial College London. He is also a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and has previously served as Chair of Cancer Research UK.
In 2001, Sir Leszek was knighted for his pioneering work in vaccine development, including significant contributions to the HPV vaccine. His contributions have earned him numerous honours, including the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and most recently, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, recognising his exceptional service to cancer research, clinical medicine, and charitable causes.
Born and raised in Cardiff, Sir Leszek attended Cardiff High School and studied at Cardiff University, earning a BSc in 1972 and an MBBCh in 1975. He was later recognised as an Honorary Fellow of the University in 2006, celebrating his remarkable contributions to science, education, and public health. Sir Leszek was elected as member of the Basic and Clinical Translational Sciences section in 2008.
Read the interview#
Congratulations on receiving the Knight Grand Cross. Awards like this often recognise not only individual achievement but also the broader impact of work. What aspect of your contributions are you most proud to see acknowledged at this level?In each of these roles I’ve been involved in numerous specific areas. At the Medical Research Council, I was building a relationship with the National Institute of Health Research and at Cambridge spending a lot of time establishing new facilities on the biomedical campus.
I helped steer Cancer Research UK through COVID. People may not appreciate just what a dramatic impact COVID had on charities, when we were not able to fundraise in the normal way. That meant a £150 million deficit, which would have cut our grants by a third with its consequences on cancer research. Thankfully we managed to avoid that!
Honours are awarded to individuals, but everything I’ve done has been dependent on working with so many fantastic people, who have engaged in research, debate, discussion and delivery. This award is as much for them as it is for me.”
Your career has encompassed a huge spectrum of roles and achievements. Could you share some of the key moments or decisions that shaped your journey through these roles and defined your path?
A difficult decision was to move from Cardiff to Imperial College London, where I gave up clinical practice. That was hard. Years of that wonderful experience of working with patients suddenly stops, because you have undertaken new responsibilities for staff and students. This changed again and adapting to the role and interactions with government and investigators around the UK and globally as the Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council was challenging.
It’s interesting because there was no formal training for any of this. It just happens, and you engage with the issues, rely on many others and get on with the job. Looking back you think, ‘How have I ended up where I am, compared with where I started?’ Those were tough personal decisions, but what cannot be understated is how important the support of your family is in doing this.”
What do you see as the next frontier in vaccine research, and how can researchers and institutions contribute?
Vaccines are probably the most effective public health measure to deal with infections and pandemics. However, it is also a technology that might impact on cancer and cancer therapy downstream. There’s a lot of research going on, and I suspect in the next five years most of the effort will be directed to looking at the way in which RNA vaccines can be modified and utilised in conditions such as cancer.”
Growing up in Cardiff and studying at Cardiff University, how did these experiences influence your perspective on the value of education and research? Do you have any fond memories of your time as a student?
So many fantastic people helped us. I remember not being able to speak English before going to primary school at Bryn Hafod School in Llanrumney, yet the teachers were determined to teach me English, even though they spoke no Polish. I also recollect that in my final primary school year we had a wonderful teacher, Gerald Owen, who lives in South Wales. I’m forever grateful to him for opening a whole series of opportunities to us. It was the early 1960’s and we were in a classroom where we were introduced through tape recordings with schools all around the world. It was an eye opener, especially with teachers like him in a local primary school being so committed and well ahead of their time.
Staying on in Cardiff at the then Welsh National School of Medicine was exceptional. The lecturers encouraged asking questions and helping you discover the limitations of our knowledge encouraging research. As a student I remember the geneticist Professor Peter Harper
in particular, who allowed me to do research into the genetic differences between the Welsh and English. That encouragement determined that laboratory based research was going to be part of my future path.
Coming back as Professor of Medicine in 1990, I again experienced the welcoming nature of the people in Cardiff. Just imagine, I came back to the medical school where I was a student, and suddenly, as Professor of Medicine, you are faced with the daunting prospect of working with the superb teachers who taught you! They were an amazing team. Wales is blessed with fantastic physicians and medical schools providing a great education and training. I will always remain closely attached to Wales and a proud Welshman.”
How do you hope your legacy will be remembered – not just in academia, but by the communities and individuals you’ve influenced along the way?
After all you’ve achieved, what’s next for you? Are there new ways you hope to contribute or new areas to explore?
I’ve also taken on the Chairmanship of Diamond Light Source
at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. This is a major campus for UK science. Diamond Light Source is the synchrotron that provides intense light which can be utilised to study molecular structure. The facility was originally opened in the 1990s, and now it’s undergoing a rebuilding programme to update it and maintain the United Kingdom’s global competitiveness in the field.
For me, it’s all about what can be done to make sure that young people and scientists in the UK have every opportunity to be in a country that is world-leading in science. I will continue to work towards making an active contribution in that role but also through my involvement on Councils of Imperial College and the Courtauld Institute
.
So, I haven’t stopped. The time will come to wind down. But maybe not quite yet!”
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