Professor of Medical Oncology and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology; Clinical Director, CRUK Scotland Centre; Director, Nicola Murray Centre for Ovarian Cancer Research.
Prof. Gourley graduated with Genetics and Medicine degrees from Glasgow University, UK, in 1991 and 1994, respectively. From 1998 to 2005, he trained in medical oncology at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, UK, during which he was awarded a PhD in ovarian cancer genetics from the University of Edinburgh and an NHS Education for Scotland Clinician Scientist Award. He was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Edinburgh in 2005, Reader in Medical Oncology in 2011 and Professor of Medical Oncology (Personal Chair) in 2012. He received a Scottish Senior Clinical Fellowship Award in 2010. He became Director of the Nicola Murray Centre for Ovarian Cancer Research in 2016, Clinical Director of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Edinburgh Centre in 2019 and Clinical Director of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre in 2022. He is a member of the CRUK Clinical Research Committee, the German Cancer Aid Scientific Review Committee and the International Clinical Cancer Research Committee, Institute National du Cancer, France.
Prof. Gourley's clinical research focus is ovarian cancer clinical trials. He was UK Lead for the SOLO1 trial, which led to the first-line licence for olaparib in BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer, and for the GOG281/LOGS trial of trametinib, which is the first positive randomised controlled trial in low-grade serous ovarian cancer.
His translational research focuses on genomic characterisation of ovarian cancer in order to facilitate the discovery of biomarkers of ovarian cancer drug sensitivity and resistance. His current priorities include whole-genome sequencing of ovarian cancer tumours from across Scotland in order to improve patient selection for novel therapies and exomic sequencing of low-grade serous ovarian cancers from patients recruited into the GOG281/LOGS study in order to improve patient selection for MEK inhibition. His research group have also recently reported a comprehensive genomic characterisation of endometrioid ovarian cancer.