Richard Sullivan

Professor Richard Sullivan's research group studies health systems, particular NCD policy and the impact of conflict on health. He is Professor of Cancer and Global Health at King’s College London, and Director of the Institute of Cancer Policy (ICP) and co-Director of the Conflict and Health Research Group. As well as holding a number of Visiting Chairs, Richard is an NCD advisor to the WHO, civil-military advisor to Save the Children, and a member of the National Cancer Grid of India His research focuses on global cancer policy and planning, and health systems strengthening, particularly conflict ecosystems.

He is principle investigator on research programs ranging from automated radiotherapy planning for low resource settings to use of augmented/virtual reality for cancer surgery, through to political economy to build affordable, equitable cancer control plans. Richard has led five Lancet Oncology Commissions and worked on four others. He is currently co-leading Lancet Oncology commissions on the Future of Cancer Research in Europe and Cancer Care in Conflict. In conflict systems, his research teams have major programs in capacity building in conflict medicine across the Middle East and North Africa (r4hc-mena.org), as well as studies of the basic package of health services in Afghanistan, civil-military co-operation in health security, polio eradication and insecurity in Pakistan, and use of intelligence in high security disease outbreaks.

Professor Sullivan qualified in medicine and trained in surgery (urology), gaining his PhD from University College London. He was also clinical director of Cancer Research UK between 1999 and 2008. Following a period at the London School of Economics working on complex healthcare systems he moved to King’s College London in 2011.