Sir John became Chairman of the Trust on 1 December 2017.

He obtained a first class honours degree in Human Genetics and an MD with distinction from Newcastle University, where he has been Professor of Clinical Genetics since 1991.

He was appointed as a consultant specialist in Newcastle in 1984 and led the regional NHS Genetics Service for 20 years. As well as helping to create the Centre for Life, which houses an education and science centre alongside the Institute of Genetic Medicine, Sir John is Vice Chair for the Newcastle based DNA device company, QuantuMDx Ltd.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (London and Edinburgh), Paediatrics and Child Health, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Sire John now has two major areas of research: The CAPP programme has now succeeded in establishing that aspirin significantly reduces the risk of cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, the major form of hereditary colorectal cancer. This is now poised to transform the clinical management of cancer in all people with a family history. The CaPP3 trial, a dose non-inferiority study to determine the optimal dose of aspirin for cancer chemoprevention in Lynch Syndrome, is now open and recruiting. The team is also exploring the development of a cell based vaccine focused on the frameshift proteins resulting from slippage in microsatellites in these tumours.

The second major direction will be to develop a new technology in genotyping and gene sequencing using the concept of using nanowires to detect the electrical impedance changes associated with nucleotide binding. The start-up company, QuantuMDx Ltd has received second round funding and now holds a world exclusive licence for any diagnostic use of nanowires, nanotubes or nanoribbons.