Sir Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz (born 13 April 1951) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, immunologist and scientific administrator. He served as the 345th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, his term of office (a maximum of seven years) started on 1 October 2010 and ended on 1 October 2017. Borysiewicz also served as

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Medical Research Council of the UK from 2007-2010 and was the chairman of Cancer Research UK from 2016 to 2023.Roger Highfield
Medical Research Council's new head announced
''The Daily Telegraph'', 12 September 2007.

Education and early life

Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales, to Jan and Zofia (née Wołoszyn) Borysiewicz, ethnic Polish

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era refugees (from what is present-day

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

) who came to Great Britain with the Anders' Army. He speaks fluent Polish. After attending Cardiff High School, Borysiewicz studied at Welsh National School of Medicine of

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, where he obtained a BSc in anatomy 1972, followed by an MB BCh medical degree in 1975. He received a PhD degree from the

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

(then part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

) in 1986 for his thesis on Cell mediated immunity to human cytomegalovirus infection ( cytotoxic T cell and natural killer cell mediated lysis of human cytomegalovirus infected cells) supervised by J. G. P. Sissons and Keith Peters. He received a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in 1989.Leszek K. Borysiewicz
- website of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

In 2010, Borysiewicz was awarded with an MA degree from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, upon his inauguration as the new Vice-Chancellor of this University.

Career and research

Borysiewicz pursued a career in academic medicine at the

, where he was a fellow of Wolfson College, and then as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

at Hammersmith Hospital. He headed the Department of Medicine at the University of Wales before joining

, where he was promoted to Deputy Rector responsible "for the overall academic and scientific direction of the College," Retrieved 22 September 2007. In September 2007, it was reported he would succeed Colin Blakemore as the 9th head of the Medical Research Council, a national organisation that supports medical science with an annual budget of around £500 million. Borysiewicz was appointed as chairman of Cancer Research UK in November 2016. Cancer Research UK is one of the world's largest fundraising charities and is governed by a council of trustees, led by Borysiewicz. The council's role is to set the charity's strategic direction, uphold its value and governance, and guide, advise and support the chief executive. Borysiewicz previously chaired the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

Identification Committee (2014-2020); Scientific Advisory Board,

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

(2010-2016); and Joint MRC/UK Stem Cell Foundation Scientific Advisory Board (2005-2007). He currently holds several other roles, including as a member of the UK Health Honours Committee, Wales Science and Innovation Council, as a non-executive director at 52 North Health, and Chair of Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility. Borysiewicz's research focuses on viral

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

, and viral-induced cancer. His work in

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

s included Europe's first trial of a vaccine for

human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and r ...

to treat cervical cancer, research conducted at

. He has co-authored and co-edited a number of books on these subjects, including ''Vaccinations''.

Awards and honours

Borysiewicz was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in the 2001 New Year Honours List for services to Medical Research and Education. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

(DL) in 2012. In October 2018, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the highest-ranked Polish order of merit awarded to foreigners or Poles resident abroad for their services to Poland. He collected it during a ceremony at the Polish Embassy in London in late April 2019. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

in the 2025 New Year Honours List for services to Cancer Research, to Clinical Research, to Medicine and to Charities. Borysiewicz was awarded as Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (Hon FRCPath) in 2001. In 2002, he was awarded the Moxon Trust Medal of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

. He was also a Governor of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

, a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) and co-chair of the MRC's advisory group on stem cell research. In 2008, Borysiewicz was awarded with the honorary degree of

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(Hon DSc) from the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

as well one from the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS). In 2009, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Hon DSc) from the

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. Also in this year, he was honoured with an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Hon DSc) by the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

for his contribution to medicine and medical research. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Medicine (Hon MD) in 2010 at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. In the same year, Borysiewicz was also elected a Founding Fellow of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...

(FLSW). In 2012, Borysiewicz was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science ''honoris causa'' (DSc h.c) by the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

in recognition of his contributions to medical research and society. He further received an honorary Doctorate of Law (Hon LLD) from the

in 2018. In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borysiewicz, Leszek 1951 births Living people Medical doctors from Cardiff Welsh people of Polish descent Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Imperial College London British immunologists Academics of Imperial College London Deputy lieutenants of Cambridgeshire Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire