Rate My Professor Russell Petty

Professor Russell Petty serves as Professor of Medical Oncology in the School of Medicine at the University of Dundee, where he also holds the position of Chair of Medical Oncology. He graduated from the University of Dundee School of Medicine in 1996 with BMSc, MB ChB, and PhD degrees, having begun his studies there in 1990. Following junior doctor roles at Ninewells Hospital, he completed general medical training in Dundee, Newcastle, and Hobart, and specialist and academic training in Medical Oncology across Aberdeen, Auckland, Newcastle, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2007, he joined the University of Aberdeen as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology, advancing to full Professor in 2014. In September 2015, he returned to Dundee as Professor of Medical Oncology and Honorary Consultant Medical Oncologist at Ninewells Hospital and Tayside Cancer Centre, NHS Tayside. Additionally, in 2022 he was appointed Director of Research and Development for NHS Tayside and Director of Tayside Medical Science Centre.

Professor Petty's research specializations centre on clinical and translational research in gastro-oesophageal cancers, including oesophageal and gastric cancers. He leads a comprehensive programme encompassing laboratory research, early- and late-phase clinical trials, innovative preclinical models, and biomarker discovery for precision medicine. Notable achievements include serving as chief investigator for the COG trial—the first Phase III randomised controlled trial of second-line therapy in oesophageal cancer—and the translational TRANSCOG study, which identified a predictive biomarker for gefitinib-responsive subgroups. He contributes to UK national trials such as PLATFORM and GO-2, and leads translational efforts in TRANS-GO2 and TRANSCOG2. Key publications include "Gefitinib for oesophageal cancer progressing after chemotherapy (COG): a phase 3, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial" (2014), "Relative telomere length and senescence-associated inflammatory cytokines as blood-based prognostic markers in patients with advanced or resectable gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma" (2026), and "AKT/mTOR as a targetable hub to overcome multimodal resistance to EGFR inhibitors in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma" (2025).

In professional service, he is the current speciality adviser in Medical Oncology to Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, acts as a clinical expert for the Scottish Medicines Consortium and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and contributed to the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee enquiry on access to new medicines, aiding the development of the Patient and Clinician Engagement process. He holds memberships in the NCRN Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers Clinical Studies Group, EORTC Gastric Cancer Task Force, and serves on the Editorial Board of BMC Cancer. His work advances precision medicine and clinical trial strategies for gastro-oesophageal cancers.