Breast Cancer Translation Team

The Breast Cancer Translational Research Support Team, established by the Irshad Lab, provides essential infrastructure for trial-linked sample collection, ethics and regulatory coordination, biobanking, and translational data management across breast cancer studies at King’s College London. By embedding expertise within both the hospital and academic settings, the team enables the full cycle of translational medicine — from patient-facing recruitment to advanced immune and molecular analysis.

The team works seamlessly with multidisciplinary clinical teams to streamline trial set-up, consent, and sample collection. This includes the development of frictionless pathways for collecting and processing tissue and blood samples from patients with minimal disruption to their care.  By recruiting and engaging patients at the point of care, the team provides high-quality longitudinal samples that fuel our core translational studies — enabling us to test hypotheses with direct relevance to patient outcomes. At the same time, the team enhances the experience of breast cancer patients at Guy’s Cancer Centre by integrating research as part of personalised and future-focused care.

The team plays a central role in programmes such as NHS England's whole genome sequencing programme, PHOENIX, SAMBAI, DISCOVER, and supports translational activities across multiple research groups within the King’s Health Partners and wider breast cancer research community.