Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre Strengthens Rare Childhood Cancer Programme Through Appointment of New Little Princess Trust Professor of Paediatric Oncology
Professor Isidro Cortés-Ciriano, an internationally recognised scientist with extensive experience in childhood cancer research, will accelerate Oxford-Harrington’s mission to translate discoveries into new therapies for children with rare cancers under new £5.25 million partnership between the University of Oxford and The Little Princess Trust
OXFORD, UK and CLEVELAND, Ohio, US, 1st July 2026 – The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC), a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio, dedicated to creating new medicines for rare diseases, today highlights the expansion of its rare paediatric cancer programme following the University of Oxford's £5.25 million partnership with The Little Princess Trust, the second largest funder of childhood cancer research in the UK.
Under this new partnership, 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. In addition, he will provide scientific leadership for Oxford-Harrington's Cancer Theme, strengthening the Centre's ability to translate discoveries into new therapies for children with rare cancers.
Professor Cortés-Ciriano, an internationally recognised scientist and leader in computational cancer genomics, will bring together Oxford's world-leading expertise in cancer biology, genomics, therapeutic development and clinical translation with proven oncology drug development expertise in Cleveland, including at the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital.
Childhood cancer remains a leading cause of disease-related death in children worldwide, with around 20,000 children and young people diagnosed each year in the UK and the US. While outcomes have improved significantly for some cancers, many children with aggressive or relapsed disease continue to face limited treatment options.
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, MBE, Co-founder of The Little Princess Trust, said “Every child diagnosed with cancer deserves better treatment options and the best possible future. Having funded more than 165 childhood cancer research projects, The Little Princess Trust is proud to support this exciting partnership and Professor Cortés-Ciriano's appointment. By benefitting from access to world-class cancer research in Oxford and drug development expertise at the Harrington Discovery Institute in the US, the newly appointed Chair of Paediatric Oncology will accelerate the discovery of new medicines for children and families who urgently them."
Prof. Isidro Cortés-Ciriano said: “Children with cancer deserve more effective, less toxic treatment options and better outcomes. What excites me the most about this opportunity is the ability to bring together expertise across cancer biology, data science, drug development and clinical research to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into novel therapies that can make a meaningful difference for patients and families. I look forward to building new collaborations across Oxford, Cleveland and the wider OHC community.”
Prof. Matthew Wood, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, said: “We are deeply grateful to The Little Princess Trust for this major milestone and welcome the appointment of Prof. Cortés-Ciriano. Childhood cancers present some of the most difficult challenges in medicine requiring specialist expertise, innovative science and long-term commitment. This support allows us to do exactly that. Isidro's appointment provides outstanding scientific leadership and will help connect the extensive capabilities available across Oxford and Cleveland to accelerate the discovery and development of better treatments for children with cancer.”
Matthew Anderson, MD, PhD, Co-Director of the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, and Investigator at Harrington Discovery Institute, added: “Too many children with cancer still face limited treatment options. Closing that gap requires not only discovery, but the ability to translate science into medicines. This gift strengthens our Cancer Theme and the Centre’s translational capabilities, which already supports pioneering research in brain tumours, Hodgkin lymphoma, blood and eye cancers, with the aim of advancing new therapies to patients more quickly.”
Prof. Cortés-Ciriano was previously at EMBL-EBI in Cambridge, UK where his research combined cancer genomics, computational biology and artificial intelligence to better understand how cancers develop, and to identify new therapeutic opportunities. His appointment reflects the OHC's commitment to harnessing cutting-edge technologies to advance precision medicine and improve patient outcomes.
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About The Little Princess Trust
The Little Princess Trust provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. The charity also funds childhood cancer research focused on developing kinder and more effective treatments. Since launching its research programme in 2016, The Little Princess Trust has funded 165 research projects across all childhood cancers as part of its vision to give Hair and Hope to every young person with cancer until there is no longer a need for what it does.
About Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, in Cleveland, Ohio, US. The Oxford-Harrington Centre combines world-leading strengths in research and therapeutics development from across these organisations to set the science and innovation agenda and drive cutting-edge rare disease breakthroughs to address the unmet need in rare diseases across the globe to deliver major clinical impact for patients. For more information, visit: OxfordHarrington.org | LinkedIn | X
About the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is rated the best in the world for medicine and life sciences, and it is home to the UK’s top-ranked medical school. It has one of the largest clinical trial portfolios in the UK and great expertise in taking discoveries from the lab into the clinic. Partnerships with the local National Health Service Trusts enable patients to benefit from close links between medical research and healthcare delivery. For more information, visit: www.ox.ac.uk
About Harrington Discovery Institute
Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, aims to advance academic discoveries into medicines to address unmet need. It was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and has supported more than 200 scientists throughout the US, UK and Canada. Harrington Discovery Institute uses an innovation model that surrounds scientists with drug development and business expertise and employs both philanthropic funding and catalytic investment capital to advance projects into the clinic and through commercialisation. For more information, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org| LinkedIn | X
Media contacts:
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OHC@medistrava.com
US – For University Hospitals
Ansley Kelm
ansley.kelm@UHhospitals.org
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