Institute of Genetics and Cancer Inaugural Lecture Showcase

Professor Joris Veltman is a Dutch human geneticist, Chair of Reproductive Genomics and Director of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh. 

Joris has contributed significantly to unravelling the genetic causes of rare disease, to our understanding of mutational mechanisms underlying genetic disorders and to the implementation of genomics approaches in medicine. His research using both exome and genome sequencing provided strong experimental evidence for a de novo paradigm in severe early-onset disorders.

In his lecture, Joris will highlight the importance of studying the genetic causes of rare disorders and in particular reproductive disorders using state-of-the art genomics approaches. He will look at a particular approach they developed in which they compare the genomes of patients to that of their parents in order to identify and characterize novel genetic mutations and their role in these disorders. He will talk about working together with clinicians and scientists around the world to advance or knowledge in this field, and as Director of IGC, will highlight the importance of linking genomics to both functional and clincial studies as one of his major ambitions.

Professor Charlie Lees is a clinician-scientist at the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh IBD Unit. He spent a decade as a full‑time NHS consultant (2009–2019) before securing a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, enabling a pivot to research and appointment to the Chair of Gastroenterology in early 2020, while continuing active clinical practice.

He led the UK COVID‑19 IBD response and national guidance and has published 160+ peer‑reviewed papers. Charlie is Chief Investigator of PREdiCCt (2,629 participants) and curates the population‑based Lothian IBD Registry. His team of data scientists, clinical fellows and research nurses integrate genetics, diet, microbiome and longitudinal biomarkers with machine learning to forecast flares and optimise therapy. He is Adjunct Professor at Aalborg University and the PREDICT Centre for the Molecular Prediction of IBD.

He leads development of SENTINEL, an AI‑driven decision‑support and patient companion for IBD. Beyond academia, he founded Atomic IBD, a global platform that brings plain‑spoken, evidence‑based IBD insights to clinicians and patients.

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Charlie Lees tells a 20‑year story of change in IBD, from his start as a clinical research fellow at the Western General Hospital in 2003 to today’s data‑driven, patient‑centred care. Illustrated through patient stories, Charlie will trace how treatment, outcomes and our understanding of pathogenesis have evolved: genetics and the microbiome, diet and the exposome, and what longitudinal inflammatory patterns teach us about disease course.

He’ll share insights from truly population‑based NHS datasets (the Lothian IBD Registry), bespoke cohorts like PREdiCCt, and large UK–Danish collaborations, showing where we’ve broken through, where we’re still stuck, and why unpredictability remains the defining challenge. The lecture will close with the next steps: SENTINEL, an AI‑enabled decision‑support and patient companion designed to make monitoring frictionless, predict flares earlier, and personalise therapy.