Professor Isidro Cortés-Ciriano

Professor Isidro Cortés-Ciriano has been appointed the first Little Princess Trust Professor of Paediatric Oncology to lead a new childhood cancer research programme within Oxford's Department of Paediatrics. He completed his PhD at Pasteur Institute/Sorbonne and will be a fellow of Kellogg, taking up the position effective from 1 September 2026. Originally from Zaragoza, Spain, he completed undergraduate studies in biology and biochemistry before specializing in computational biology.

Cortés-Ciriano obtained MSc degrees in biology and biochemistry (major in bioinformatics) from the University of Navarra, then earned his PhD from the Pasteur Institute in 2015. Funded by a Marie Curie fellowship, he completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Peter Park, followed by a postdoc at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Andreas Bender. His research uses diverse sequencing techniques, from whole-genome sequencing to single-cell technologies, to explore cancer genomes, with particular focus on genome instability.

His laboratory focuses on developing computational methods for early cancer detection and studying mechanisms underpinning cancer evolution using whole-genome sequencing. Recent discoveries include novel mechanisms of cancer development, such as Loss-Translocation-Amplification chromothripsis in osteosarcoma, and leading application of long-read sequencing technologies for tumour profiling and liquid biopsy analysis through the CRUK-funded Stratified Medicine Pediatrics (SMPEDS) programme. He received the inaugural EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award in 2023.

Career History

• Research Group Leader, EMBL-EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute) – June 2019 to present
• Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry – supervised by Andreas Bender
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard Medical School – in the laboratory of Peter Park, funded by Marie Curie fellowship
• PhD Student, Pasteur Institute – completed 2015

What Professor Cortés-Ciriano could bring to the Little Princess Trust Professorship of Paediatric Oncology at Oxford: His track record in developing computational approaches to early cancer detection combined with his expertise in translating genomic discoveries into clinical practice positions him to accelerate the development of new treatment options for children with cancer. His leadership of the EMBL-EBI cancer genomics group, recognition as a Rising Star researcher, and collaborative networks across international institutions will strengthen Oxford's ability to drive interdisciplinary research spanning cancer biology, data science, and clinical implementation for paediatric oncology.

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