Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
Our Research
Our research at a glance
- Queen Mary is ranked 14th in the world for quality of research (THE World University Rankings 2024)
- Queen Mary is ranked 5th in the UK for quality of research (THE World University Rankings 2024)
- Across Queen Mary, 92% of research assessed as internationally excellent or world-leading (REF 2021)
- Queen Mary is ranked 5th in the world for quality of research in clinical and health (THE World University Rankings 2024)
- Queen Mary is ranked 9th in the world for international outlook in clinical and health (THE World University Rankings 2024)
Queen Mary has created an exciting and supportive environment for inter-disciplinary high-impact health sciences research. With investment from Barts Charity, recent recruitment of talented Faculty members, and the extensive developments plans for the Whitechapel campus, there is a clear path to maintaining and building a world-leading research institution.
Research with impact
- Work with one of Nature’s ten most influential researchers in the world – Tom Powles, Professor of Genitourinary Oncology and physician, was recognised by Nature as one of the ten people who shaped science in 2023 for his breakthrough success in treating a deadly bladder cancer. He also features in the 2024 TIME100 Health list of the 100 most influential people in global health in the world.
- Mpox – During the multi-country mpox outbreaks, Professor Chloe Orkin established and led an international collaborative clinical network (SHARE-net) resulting in three global case series that shaped the global response to the outbreak and changed international guidelines.
- Eliminating hepatitis C in the UK – Professor Graham Foster’s research has shaped national and international guidelines on hepatitis C treatment and screening – making significant progress in eliminating the virus in the UK and elsewhere.
Inter-disciplinary research and collaborations
Our close partnerships with several NHS Trusts allow us to deliver innovative treatments to over 6 million patients. This means that we are part of specialist units such as Barts Heart Centre (BHC) at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, one of the largest secondary and tertiary cardiovascular centres in Europe, and the Centre for Trauma Sciences, a world-leading research centre run in partnership with the Royal London Hospital Major Trauma Centre.
We are part of the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, together with Barts Health NHS Trust, St George’s University of London and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The £20.9m funding allows us to research and develop new ways to diagnose and treat a variety of illnesses including cancer, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease through personalised healthcare.
Our extensive network of national and international partnerships enables us to take our research from London to the world. We work with funders and partners, including Barts Charity, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and Prostate Cancer UK; and we have ties with several institutes and universities across the globe, such as the the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité.
Finding a new treatment for mesothelioma
In 2024, Professor Peter Szlosarek and his team found a new treatment for mesothelioma, the biggest treatment breakthrough in two decades. The ATOMIC-meso trial is the culmination of 20 years of research at Queen Mary’s Barts Cancer Institute that began with Professor Szlosarek’s discovery as a PhD student that malignant mesothelioma cells lack a protein called ASS1, which enables cells to manufacture their own arginine.
The strong partnership between Barts Health NHS Trust and University provides amazing opportunities for scientists focused on clinical impact and translation.