Prestigious Oxford Professorship for Blond McIndoe-Funded Researcher

We are delighted to share that Professor Fadi Issa, BM BCh MA DPhil Oxf, MSc Birm, has been appointed to the Professorship of Transplantation in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Oxford, with effect from 1 August 2025. Professor Issa will also become a Fellow of Green Templeton College.

This highly prestigious appointment recognises Professor Issa’s outstanding contributions to transplantation and immunology. His work bridges basic science and clinical translation, focusing on how immune regulation can improve transplant outcomes and reduce dependence on lifelong immunosuppression.

When he was an academic clinical lecturer in 2018, BMRF funded his initial research into biomarkers as a tool to identify high-risk melanoma tumours at an early stage to enable timely treatment. Professor Issa and his team developed a panel of immune and genetic markers that could predict, from a single blood sample, which patients are most likely to develop skin squamous cell carcinoma in the following five years.

The work continues at Oxford under new funding from the British Skin Foundation.

Reflecting on the support provided by the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation, Professor Issa wrote in his final report:

“A huge thank you to the RCS and the Blond McIndoe Foundation for providing this key support at a critical time in my career, where it allowed me to investigate an important area of tumour biology.”

Tim Goodacre, Blond McIndoe trustee, commented:

“This is a hugely prestigious appointment….and a remarkable accolade for someone the Foundation has supported. It is wonderful to see how early investment in surgical research can help nurture such impactful academic careers.”

We warmly congratulate Professor Issa on this honour and look forward to following the next chapter of his pioneering work in transplantation and regenerative medicine.