Ian Jacobs (oncologist)

Ian Jacobs (born 6 October 1957[1]) is an academic, medical doctor, gynaecological oncologist, charity founder[2] and university leader from the UK, with dual British and Australian citizenship.[3]

Ian Jacobs
Vice Chancellor and President of UNSW
In office
February 2015 – January 2022
Personal details
Born (1957-10-06) 6 October 1957
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge (BA, MA)
University College London (MBBS)
University of London (MD)
Occupationacademic
medical doctor
gynaecological
oncologist researcher

He began as the ninth president and vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales in Australia in February 2015. Jacobs announced his resignation in January 2021, to take effect at the beginning of 2022.[4]

Early life and education

Jacobs was born in the East End of London and raised in Cockfosters in North London.[5]

Jacobs is an alumnus of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, which is now part of University College London. He received a bachelor of arts and master of arts in medicine and law from Cambridge in 1980 and 1983, respectively. He qualified as a doctor of medicine (MBBS) from Middlesex Hospital Medical School in 1983. Jacobs was awarded a medical doctorate from the University of London in 1991.[6]

Jacobs was the first in his family to gain a tertiary education, benefitting from the era of publicly funded education in the UK.[7]

Career

After qualifying as a doctor, Jacobs worked as a junior doctor at the Middlesex Hospital and at Mount Vernon Hospital. In 1984, he commenced specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Royal London Hospital and then Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, which he completed in 1990.[6]

Also in 1984, Jacobs founded The Eve Appeal (first called the Gynaecology Cancer Research Fund), a charity with the aim of raising funds for research in gynaecologic cancer. In 1985, he began a program of research into ovarian cancer screening.[2] He was subsequently Medical Director of the charity as well as Emeritus Trustee.[6][8]

From 1990 to 1991, Jacobs received a fellowship from the Medical Research Council to research cancer genetics at Duke University.[6] He became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1991[9] and received a Cancer Research Campaign (now Cancer Research UK) McElwain fellowship at Cambridge University from 1992 to 1994.[6] He completed his subspecialist training in gynaecologic oncology at St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal Marsden Hospital in 1996, and began working as a consultant and senior lecturer at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry in the same year.[6] Jacobs was promoted to Professor of Gynaecological Cancer at the Queen Mary University of London in 1999[10] and was Director of the Cancer Institute and Associate Research Dean before joining University College London (UCL) in 2004 as the head of the gynaecologic oncology research department.[6][11][12] At UCL, Jacobs established the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health (iFWH),[12][13] the Ugandan Women's Health Initiative (UWHI),[14][15][16] and the UCLH/UCL Biomedical Research Centre.[17][18][19] From 2009 to 2011, Jacobs was dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences.[20]

After seven years, he departed from UCL in 2011 to take up the position of vice-president of the University of Manchester and the dean of its Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences.[10] He also led the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, which partnered the university with six NHS hospitals.[21][22] While in Manchester, Jacobs founded the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA), involving leading universities, Academic Health Science Networks and NHS trusts across the north of England.[23]

UNSW Sydney president and vice-chancellor

In 2015, Jacobs relocated from the UK to Sydney, Australia, after he was appointed president and vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney).[24][25]

In his first year at UNSW Sydney, Jacobs launched the UNSW 2025 Strategy, a 10-year strategic plan to enhance the university's global impact and reputation. The strategy, published in October 2015 after wide-ranging consultation with the UNSW Sydney community, incorporated Jacobs’ belief in universities as the drivers of societal and economic transformation.[26]

Research

Jacobs initiated and was chief investigator for the following ovarian cancer research programs, which were funded by a combination of the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and The Eve Appeal:

  • UKFOCSS (UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study)[16][27][28]
  • UKCTOCS (UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening)[16][29]
  • PROMISE (Prediction of Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Screening and Early Detection) program[30][31]
  • GCaPPS (Genetic Cancer Prediction through Population Screening)[32][33]

Since the early 2000s, Jacobs’ research programs have received approximately AUD $100 million in funding and resulted in more than 400 publications with an h-index greater than 85.[27][34]

In May 2021, the results of the UKCTOCS were published in The Lancet. The research found that although ovarian cancer can be detected early and before women develop symptoms, this does not translate into saving lives.[29] Jacobs wrote an account of his 35-year involvement in the research in The Conversation, expressing his sadness and disappointment that the study did not find the outcome for which the research team had hoped.[35]

Jacobs is founder, non-executive director and consultant to Abcodia, a University College London spin-out company involved in biomarker discovery and development.[2][36][37]

Personal life

Jacobs is married to Chris Jacobs, a nurse and genetic counsellor whom he met at Middlesex Hospital. They have three children. His great grandparents were migrants from Poland and Russia. His parents grew up in East London and until retiring ran a retail pharmacy.[38]"Jacobs' Journey" (PDF). UniLife. University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

References
  1. "University of New South Wales – Records and Archives Office – The Vice-Chancellors of the University of New South Wales Exhibition". Recordkeeping.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. "The Eve Appeal's History". The Eve Appeal. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  3. Jacobs, Ian (2 March 2020). "Message from President and Vice-Chancellor". Inside UNSW. UNSW Sydney. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. Baker, Jordan (28 January 2021). "Wanted: Vice-chancellors for state's two top unis as UNSW boss resigns". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  5. Elmes, John (9 April 2015). "Q&A with Ian Jacobs". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. "Jacobs's Journey". UniLife. The University of Manchester. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  7. Jacobs, Ian (27 August 2019). "Address at the 2019 AFR Higher Education Summit". President and Vice Chancellor. UNSW Sydney. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  8. "About Professor Ian Jacobs". UNSW Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  9. "Public Register of Fellows and Members". Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  10. "Past keynote speakers: Professor Ian Jacobs". International Festival of Public Health. The University of Manchester. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  11. "Eminent cancer scientist joins UCL". University College London. 8 April 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  12. "Professor Ian Jacobs moves to UCL and UCLH". University College London. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health Fifteenth Anniversary Report" (PDF). University College London. 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  14. "Women's Health". University College London. 16 May 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  15. Craze, Jack (12 June 2012). "A boost for women's health in Uganda". New Internationalist. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  16. John, Ross (28 January 2021). "Ian Jacobs to return to UK after leaving UNSW Sydney". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  17. "UCLH biobank used to develop early cancer tests". University College London Hospitals. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  18. "Three UCL health research centres of excellence announced". University College London. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  19. "Ian Jacobs". The Conversation. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  20. "New leadership team for UCL Life and Medical Sciences". University College London. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  21. Smith, Alexandra (23 October 2015). "UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs has many strings to his bow". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  22. Gilmore, Heath (6 June 2014). "Professor Ian Jacobs replaces Fred Hilmer as vice-chancellor of University of NSW". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  23. Parsons, Bob (18 January 2020). "How harnessing the strengths of Yorkshire's NHS could help kickstart the Northern Powerhouse". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  24. Hare, Julie (18 February 2015). "Busy Jacobs has foot in two worlds". The Australian. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  25. "UNSW Sydney". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  26. Knight, Denise (20 October 2015). "UNSW launches 2025 strategy as report shows unis are a smart investment". Newsroom. UNSW Sydney. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  27. "Professor Ian Jacobs BA, MA, MBBS, MD, FRCOG". NSW Treasury. NSW Government. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  28. "UK FOCSS results indicate screening high-risk women may reduce risk of advanced ovarian cancer diagnosis". The Eve Appeal. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  29. Usha Menon; Aleksandra Gentry-Maharaj; Matthew Burnell; Naveena Singh; Andy Ryan; Chloe Karpinskyj; Giulia Carlino; Julie Taylor; Susan K. Massingham; Maria Raikou; Jatinderpal K. Kalsi; Robert Woolas; Ranjit Manchanda; Rupali Arora; Laura Casey; Anne Dawnay; Stephen Dobbs; Simon Leeson; Tim Mould; Mourad W. Seif; Aarti Sharma; Karin Williamson; Yiling Liu; Lesley Fallowfield; Alistair J. McGuire; Stuart Campbell; Steven J. Skates; Ian J. Jacobs; Mahesh Parmar (12 May 2021). "Ovarian cancer population screening and mortality after long-term follow-up in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS): a randomised controlled trial". The Lancet. 397 (10290): 2182–2193. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00731-5. PMC 8192829. PMID 33991479. S2CID 234683329.
  30. "PROMISE". The Eve Appeal. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  31. "Professor Ian Jacobs" (PDF). Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  32. "A study looking at testing all Ashkenazi Jewish people for a cancer gene (GCaPPS)". Cancer Research UK. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  33. "Current way of detecting gene mutations misses people at high risk of cancer". The University of Manchester. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  34. "Ian Jacobs". Google Scholar. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  35. Jacobs, Ian (19 May 2021). "'Devastated and sad' after 36 years of research — early detection of ovarian cancer doesn't save lives". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  36. "Board of Directors". Abcodia. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  37. Jacobs, Ian J; Parmar, Mahesh; Skates, Steven J; Menon, Usha (June 2016). "Ovarian cancer screening: UKCTOCS trial – Authors' reply". The Lancet. 387 (10038): 2603–2604. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30849-2. PMID 27353822. S2CID 41949656.
  38. "Jacobs' Journey" (PDF). UniLife. University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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