Submitted by lac59 on Thu, 25/06/2026 - 13:56
From pioneering work exploring targeted immunotherapies for Parkinson’s, to the very latest in MRI scanning and holomedicine for surgery, the University of Cambridge has honoured three of its leading researchers with new professorships to push the boundaries of neuroscience and better support the next generation of upcoming scientists in the city and beyond.
The new professorships represent the wide range of high impact research taking place in Cambridge, including neurosurgery, imaging, and clinical trials.
Surgeon Adel Helmy is now Professor of Translational Neurosurgery, physicist Chris Rodgers is now Professor of Biomedical Imaging, and neurologist Caroline Williams-Gray is now a Professor of Clinical Research.
All three are hoping to use the platform to make a major impact for young researchers and for patients worldwide. Here we introduce their work and thoughts on the new professorships.
Adel Helmy - Professor of Translational Neurosurgery
His expertise - fluid biomarkers of inflammation and metabolism in head injury – is based on his use of micro-dialysis in acute head-injured patients, a practice increasingly adopted in neurosurgery centres around the world. From this observational work, Adel has developed therapeutic ideas and tested them in experimental medicine.
He has also innovated in teaching with virtual reality technologies ('holomedicine') to help surgeons understand the 3D anatomy of their surgical target. He has championed the use of 3D printing to create exact replicas of skull bone flaps that need to be removed in surgery.
“An important part of academia is to ensure that the next generation of clinician scientists are better than we are! Research tools are constantly evolving and the next generation will have complementary skill sets in data analysis and advanced statistical methodologies, that we didn’t have access to when we started our research journey,” Adel commented.
“We have as much to learn from our graduate students and post-docs as they have from us. The key things are to attract the most talented individuals into research and develop a research culture that allows them to thrive.”
Chris Rodgers - Professor of Biomedical Imaging
His research expertise is the physics of MRI, especially 7T MRI, the strongest magnet currently used for clinical diagnostic imaging. In Cambridge he has championed the installation of the latest Terra.X update.
His recent contributions to clinical research include findings on altered brainstem neurochemistry in Parkinson’s and in COVID-19, and a study exploring the use of 7T MRI in measures for chelation therapy in the rare brain disease neuroferritinopathy.
In a collaboration with NHS neurologist, Thomas Cope, previously unseen brain lesions were discovered on patients with drug-resistant epilepsy using new parallel transmit 7T MRI, opening the potential for surgical treatment.
“In research, I am focused on establishing 7T MRI in the clinical pathway for epilepsy,” Chris said. “Several groups internationally (including ours) have shown clear evidence that 7T MRI improves access to curative surgery. The next step is to pare down our one hour scans to focus on the highest value images and generate evidence of cost effectiveness so that this can start to be funded by the NHS. This will open a route for patients across the UK to access these scans - not just patients who participate in research studies.”
Chris hopes to develop a 'culture of boldness' in attempting new kinds of translational research. “To really support bold new discoveries, we must accept that most ideas fail to translate despite everyone’s best efforts and intentions. So, it’s vital to have a culture that celebrates ‘good failures’, ideas that were sound, that were tested carefully and that didn’t work,” Chris commented. “Without that psychological safety and without resources to match, it’s hard for genuinely bold and new ideas to succeed.”
Caroline Williams-Gray - Clinical Research Professor
“My clinical practice provides an essential perspective for my research. It helps me to understand the complexities of Parkinson's disease which we need to factor into our studies and helps to ensure that the scientific questions my lab addresses remain focused on improving real-world outcomes for patients,” Caroline said.
Her early work was on patient stratification in Parkinson’s Disease, where she discovered that patients with an “inflammatory phenotype” had a worse prognosis. This led to the first trial of an immunosuppressant drug (azathioprine) in Parkinson’s, which was published in the Lancet Neurology. She is now leading a phase-II trial testing a NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor.
“Through our work to date, we have established that immune activation is associated with worse outcomes in Parkinson's disease, and we have completed a clinical trial (AZA-PD) providing proof of concept for immune-suppressing treatments for Parkinson's,” Caroline commented. “But it is clear that the immune response in Parkinson’s is variable between patients, and we are now trying to understand how this variability maps onto different clinical subtypes. The next step will be to deliver immune therapies for Parkinson's disease in a more targeted way, directing the right treatments to the right patients.”
Caroline hopes to encourage greater collaboration across institutions and disciplines as part of her role. She commented: “In addition to supporting progression in academia, neuroscience training should also equip individuals to make meaningful contributions in entrepreneurship, industry, education, and policymaking, where their expertise can have a significant impact on society.”
About the Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Our mission is to improve the lives of people with neurological illness and injury through discovery, innovative treatments and training the next generation.
We are embedded within Cambridge University Hospitals, allowing our research questions to stem from problems we have encountered in the clinic, and to directly address the needs of patients and families. We investigate the mechanisms of brain disease and injury, to devise new diagnostics and treatments, as well as using large data to improve the way we deliver current treatments. Our work has already led to new treatments in use world-wide.
