Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins is a prominent figure in the field of medical oncology and cell therapy, currently serving as an Advisor to Instil Bio, a company he co-founded.4 His career is marked by significant contributions to cancer research and innovative therapies.

Professional Background

Dr. Hawkins holds several advanced degrees, including:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Molecular Biology
• FRCP (Medicine)
• MB BS (Medicine)
• BA (Mathematics)3

Career Highlights

Academic Career:: Dr. Hawkins joined the University of Manchester in 1998, where he later became the Cancer Research UK Professor of Medical Oncology.2 His research at the university was groundbreaking, as he:

• Led the first gene therapy trial for cancer in the UK
• Conducted the first CAR-T trials in the UK2

Entrepreneurial Ventures::

• Founder and CEO of Immetacyte Ltd., a cell therapy company spun out from the University of Manchester
• Co-founder of Instil Bio, which acquired Immetacyte in March 202012

Current Roles::

• Chief Strategy Advisor at Instil Bio1
• Head of Research and Development at Instil Bio3
• Independent Non-Executive Director at BiVictriX Therapeutics Plc5

Expertise and Contributions

Dr. Hawkins is renowned for his expertise in:

• Treatment of metastatic renal cancer
• Pre-clinical and clinical development of antibodies
• Gene therapy
• Cell therapy
• Cancer immunotherapy1

He has been the principal investigator on over 20 clinical trials, including several that have changed practices in renal cancer treatment.2 Additionally, Dr. Hawkins led the largest European scientific consortium in engineered T cell therapy (ATTACK).2

Focus at Instil Bio

At Instil Bio, Dr. Hawkins aims to develop effective adoptive cell therapies for solid tumors.1 His work involves advancing key technologies in Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) that were initially developed at Immetacyte.2