Dr Jyoti Nangalia appointed Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians

The Fellowship recognises Dr Jyoti Nangalia’s outstanding research and clinical work in cancer genomics.  

Royal College of Physicians

Congratulations to Wellcome Sanger Institute Group Leader, Dr Jyoti Nangalia, who has been awarded a Fellowship at the Royal College of Physicians, one of the highest distinctions and professional recognition for clinicians in the United Kingdom.

Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) is a prestigious award, which marks excellence for distinguished consultants, doctors, researchers or other medical professionals who have made significant, sustained contributions to medicine. New Fellows will join an engaged community of those who are dedicated to driving change in healthcare, both nationally and internationally.

The Fellowship reflects Jyoti’s outstanding contributions to translational haematology, cancer genomics, clinical practice and her continuing commitment to improving outcomes for patients.

Jyoti Nangalia is a clinician scientist, focusing on understanding how somatic genomics and evolution influence human ageing, disease and cancer. Her influential studies use large-scale genomic data and cutting-edge techniques to reshape our understanding of the origins of cancer and disease and how this occurs on a backdrop of human development and ageing. Her group has uncovered how some mutations that drive cancers occur very early in life, even in utero, to cause disease many decades later.¹ In contrast, other mutations lead to explosive cancer growth, with implications for early detection and prevention.² Her team are also defining how other changes in the genome, such methylation marks, change over the human lifespan and in disease.

Jyoti studied Medicine at St John’s College, University of Cambridge and subsequently trained as a haematologist. During her PhD at the University of Cambridge, she developed a passion for genomics. Jyoti discovered that genetic changes in the CALR gene are found in the majority of patients with a blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).³ Testing for CALR mutations in clinical practice is now routine globally, in international WHO guidelines, with anti-CALR therapies showing immense promise in large clinical trials.

Utilising cancer genetics to support clinical decision-making is a critical application of genetic sequencing. Jyoti’s team has developed accurate online personalised predictors of prognosis for patients with blood cancer by integrating clinical and genomic factors – one such tool, Predict Blood, is a UKCA-marked⁴ software hosted by the NHS.

Jyoti is also a Consultant Haematologist and treats patients with chronic myeloid malignancies at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Jyoti attended the Fellows ceremony on 5^th March at the Royal College where the new Fellows were welcomed from all over the world.

“It is a tremendous honour to be recognised by the Royal College of Physicians. The Fellowship reflects the collective efforts of my team, colleagues, and research participants who are committed to improving patient outcomes for those with cancer.”

Dr Jyoti Nangalia, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute

More information

1. Williams et al. (2022). ‘Life histories of myeloproliferative neoplasms inferred from phylogenies’. Nature. DOI: 1038/s41586-021-04312-6
2. Kamizela et al. (2025). ‘Timing and trajectory of BCR::ABL1-driven chronic myeloid leukaemia’ Nature. DOI: 1038/s41586-025-08817-2
3. Nangalia et al. (2013). ‘Somatic CALR Mutations in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms with Nonmutated JAK2’. The New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 1056/NEJMoa1312542
4. The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark is the mandatory product marking for goods placed on the market in England, Wales, and Scotland, signifying compliance with UK regulations.