James Larkin

Professor, M.D., PhD

James Larkin is a Medical Oncologist specialising in the treatment of cancers of the kidney and skin including melanoma.

Professor Larkin grew up in North Cornwall before taking a first in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. He undertook clinical training in Oxford, qualifying in 1996. General medical training was undertaken in London and in 2001 he won a Medical Research Council Research Fellowship for a Clinician, carrying out laboratory research leading to a PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research. Specialist training was completed at The Royal Marsden and he was appointed a Consultant in 2008.

His research is focussed on trying to understand cancer and its consequences better, as well as developing improved treatments, particularly with targeted therapies and immunotherapies and globally he is amongst the most highly cited researchers in both melanoma and kidney cancer (‪James Larkin - ‪Google Scholar).

In 2018 he was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in 2020 as an NIHR Senior Investigator. In 2022 he was appointed to roles as Head of The Royal Marsden Skin Unit, Royal Marsden Joint Training Programme Director for Medical Oncology and Lead of the Cancer Immunotherapy Theme at The Royal Marsden / Institute of Cancer Research NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

Since 2024 he has hosted the educational podcast ‘Melanoma Matters’ with his US colleague Professor Sapna Patel and in 2026 he will be Scientific Co-Chair of the Annual European Society of Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid.

Professor Larkin serves as a medical advisor to the patient advocacy group Melanoma UK, as a trustee of Action Kidney Cancer and sits on the Medical Advisory Board of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition.