Kevin Harrington

ICR, United Kingdom

Prof. Kevin Harrington BSc(Hons) MBBS(Hons) MRCP FRCR FRCP DIC PhD

Professor Kevin Harrington specialises in developing new treatments with a specific focus on head and neck cancer and melanoma. His twin research interests are in oncolytic virotherapy/immunotherapy and in targeted radiation sensitisers. In the field of oncolytic virotherapy, he has been involved in the development of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), reovirus (pelareorep), coxsackie A21 (Cavatak) and vaccinia virus. His research interests in immunotherapy include the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors. In the relapsed/metastatic setting, he has been involved in first- and second-line trials of PD-1, PD-L1, LAG-3 and CTLA-4 inhibitors and STING agonist therapy. He also leads a programme of pre-clinical and clinical research in targeted radiosensitisers (Chk1i, HSP90i and ATRi), including a first-in-man phase I study of the ATR inhibitor AZD6738. In addition, he is chief investigator for a series of studies of anti-PD1 immunotherapy in combination with radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy. 

In 2016, he was appointed as a NIHR Senior Investigator. He is Joint Leader of the Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging at The Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden Hospital and Biomedical Research Centre theme lead for radiotherapy research. He leads a team of 15 researchers in the Targeted Therapy Team in the Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging. He is also an Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Prof. Harrington studied medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London and conducted PhD studies on liposomal drug targeting at Hammersmith Hospital. He completed post-doctoral research in Professor Richard Vile’s laboratory in the Molecular Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota before joining the ICR in 2001 as leader of the Targeted Therapy Team. Prof. Harrington is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers, 45 book chapters and has edited 3 books.