Institute of Genetics and Cancer Inaugural Lecture Showcase

Professors Joris Veltman and Charlie Lees shared their career and research journeys so far at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer's Inaugural Lecture Showcase.

Family was an important theme of both lectures by Professor Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, and Professor Lees, clinician-scientist at the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh IBD Unit. 

Professor Veltman highlighted the importance of studying the genetic causes of rare disorders and in particular reproductive disorders using state-of-the art genomics approaches. 

He looked at a particular approach his team developed in which they compare the genomes of patients to that of their parents in order to identify and characterise novel genetic mutations and their role in these disorders. 

He also talked about working together with clinicians and scientists around the world to advance our knowledge in this field, and highlighted the importance of linking genomics to both functional and clinical studies as one of his major ambitions.

Professor Lees told 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, he traced how treatment, outcomes and our understanding of pathogenesis have evolved, and what longitudinal inflammatory patterns teach us about disease course.

He shared 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 closed with the next steps: SENTINEL, an AI‑enabled decision‑support and patient companion designed to make monitoring frictionless, predict flares earlier, and personalise therapy.