Professor Tracy Robson, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (DVCAA) at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been awarded the Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Medicine Research Award at the IACR Annual Conference 2025.

A cancer biologist, Professor Robson joined RCSI in 2016 as Head of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics. She became the foundation Head of the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences following its establishment in 2019 and was appointed DVCAA in 2024. Following completion of her PhD at Imperial College, London, she held academic appointments at Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast, where she was appointed Professor in Experimental Therapeutics in 2010.

President of IACR Professor Jacintha O'Sullivan said: "It is an honour to present the IACR Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Medicine Research Award to Professor Tracy Robson at our 2025 IACR Annual Conference. Professor Robson is an exceptional cancer researcher and an exemplary of a leader who has advanced improvements in the cancer patient’s journey across the island of Ireland and beyond. As a pioneer in cancer research and previous IACR President, she has been an incredibly inspiring role model for her peers and for the next generation of cancer researchers. She is a most worthy recipient of this prestigious honour.”

A wealth of experience

During her career, Professor Robson has attracted over €15 million in competitive research grant awards including funding from UK research councils, InvestNI, Research Ireland (formerly SFI/IRC), HEA, various charities and Enterprise Ireland. Most recently she is co-investigator on the successful €31.6m ARC Biotherapeutics hub funded by Research Ireland.

She has 25 years' research experience on harnessing the biology of a novel protein called FKBPL for therapeutic gain in the cancer space. She developed IP on FKBPL with anti-angiogenic activity, which means it blocks the formation of tumour blood vessels that would otherwise allow cancer to continue to grow, which was subsequently licensed to Almac Discovery UK.

She proceeded to co-develop a therapeutic peptide drug with Almac which led to a Phase Ia, first in man, clinical trial in cancer patients with end stage, drug resistant disease. The therapeutic (ALM201) gained FDA Orphan Drug status for ovarian cancer. Professor Robson has seven patents filed/granted, four of which are licensed to pharma. This work is supported by a sustained track record of high-quality publications in leading journals.

Important contributions

Professor Robson is most passionate about supporting junior faculty in their academic careers, having supervised 34 PhD students and 18 postdoctoral staff, nine of whom have been recruited to academic positions, two to Full Professor and another three to Associate Professor. 

Professor Robson was President of the IACR from 2020-2024 and sat on various IACR committees over the last two decades.

Commenting on her award, Professor Robson said: "I am incredibly honoured to accept this prestigious award from my peers at the Irish Association for Cancer Research. It has been my privilege to work alongside so many exceptional cancer researchers and to see my students and postdocs develop their own research portfolios as they have advanced in their careers. I am proud to have contributed to the understanding of cancer throughout my career and I look forward to the advances we can make in the years to come.”

Congratulating Professor Robson on her award, Professor Cathal Kelly, Vice Chancellor of RCSI, said: “I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Professor Robson on this significant achievement. She has advanced the development of potential treatments for end stage ovarian cancer where there is a significant unmet clinical need. Her important contributions to cancer research have garnered substantial funding to ultimately make this critical work a reality for patients. As our Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, she is an inspiration to our academic staff and her vision and leadership has paved the way for the next generation of cancer researchers.”