Dr Jonathan Krell

Dr Jon Krell is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at Imperial College London and has a particular interest in cancer genetics.  He is a prominent member of the translational research team within the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre, which aims to overcome resistance to current anti-cancer agents in ovarian cancer.

What inspired you to get involved with research?

All of the research done by others that lead to the treatments and technologies that we use every day. My earlier research was mainly in breast cancer, where I developed a specialist interest in BRCA and hereditary causes of cancer. This led me towards further interest in ovarian cancer as well. I have since developed a greater interest in ovarian cancer than any others, especially given the fact we are a long way behind breast cancer in terms of targeted and biological therapies.

What projects are you working on that are funded by Ovarian Cancer Action? 

I lead an Ovarian Cancer Risk And Prevention Program with Dr James Flanagan. I lead the PROGRESS Trial- a study that is trialing the use of an ovarian cancer risk screening tool called Prevent. This uses genetic and epidemiological information from women to calculate their personalised risk score for ovarian cancer. This can then be used and to help guide screening and prevention measures for women to help detect ovarian cancer earlier or stop it from developing in the first instance.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Helping patients through both the good and bad times. All of our amazing patients give me the motivation I need to keep working to improve what we are able to do to help them. The job is very hard but when we manage to improve a patients quality of life that’s probably the most fulfilling part of it.

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