Prof Gerhardt Attard

Who Prof Gerhardt Attard is

Professor Gerhardt (Gert) Attard is a clinician scientist with over 20 years of research experience in drug and biomarker development for advanced prostate cancer, based at the UCL Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, London. He holds the John Black Charitable Foundation Endowed Chair in Urological Cancer Research at UCL and, in September 2024, was appointed Director of the UCL Cancer Institute, which has approximately 700 staff and researchers. He contributed to the development of abiraterone acetate for advanced prostate cancer and is co-chief investigator of the STAMPEDE2 clinical trial, as well as chairing the STAMPEDE translational research group. His lab focuses on functional and genomic studies of mechanisms of treatment resistance in prostate cancer and the development of circulating and tissue biomarker-based strategies for patient molecular characterisation. He is also an honorary medical oncology consultant at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and is publicly known for arguing that abiraterone should be offered earlier to men at high risk of their cancer spreading, a position supported by STAMPEDE findings that led to a new NHS England treatment approval in January 2026.

References for this biography

1. 1.Professor Gerhardt Attard – UCLH consultant page — Role title, organisation, research focus, clinical trial leadership, September 2024 directorship appointment
2. 2.UCL research leads to new NHS treatment for high-risk prostate cancer – UCL News, January 2026 — STAMPEDE co-lead role, NHS England approval of abiraterone for high-risk prostate cancer, public quoted statement on NHS decision
3. 3.Agilent Announces Thought Leader Award to Gerhardt Attard at UCL – Agilent, August 2022 — John Black Charitable Foundation Endowed Chair title, liquid biopsy and biomarker research, Agilent Thought Leader Award
4. 4.NCRI 2017: Dr Gerhardt Attard wins Cancer Research UK Future Leaders Prize – ICR — CRUK Future Leaders Prize 2017, background on medical training at University of Malta and Royal Marsden
5. 5.University College London appoints the next Director of the UCL Cancer Institute – Society Search — Directorship appointment, previous role as Team Leader of Treatment Resistance Group, honorary consultant at UCLH
6. 6.About us – UCL Cancer Institute — Organisation address (Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6DD), general contact email
7. 7.International Speakers – ANZUP — Full awards list including ASCO, PCF, AACR-GSK and MRC prizes; co-author of over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts
8. 8.New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer – UCL News, October 2025 — Led international AMPLITUDE trial (696 men, 32 countries) on niraparib plus abiraterone for advanced prostate cancer
9. 9.Gert Attard – UCL Staff Profile — Official UCL staff profile page

Notable achievements

• Appointed Director of the UCL Cancer Institute (approximately 700 staff and researchers) in September 2024. Source ↗
• Co-led the STAMPEDE trial whose findings directly led to NHS England approving abiraterone as a new standard treatment for high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer in January 2026. Source ↗
• Received the Cancer Research UK Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prize at the NCRI conference in 2017 for contributions to understanding hormone resistance in prostate cancer. Source ↗
• Received the Agilent Thought Leader Award in 2022, recognising transformative prostate cancer clinical research using liquid biopsy technologies. Source ↗
• Awards include the ASCO Foundation Annual Merit Award (2007), Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award (2008), AACR-GlaxoSmithKline Outstanding Clinical Scholar Award (2009), and Medical Research Society/Academy of Medical Sciences Sue McCarthy Prize (2010). Source ↗
• Led as chief investigator a trial (AMPLITUDE) enrolling 696 men across 32 countries examining niraparib plus abiraterone combination therapy for advanced prostate cancer, reported at ESMO 2025. Source ↗

Recent social activity

• Question: if an mHSPC patient has a PSA decline on primary treatment to <0.2ng/mL, does the volume of metastases at diagnosis make a difference? Answer in our latest STAMPEDE trial manuscript https://t.co/eNTF27Vaag

  x.com ↗

• How can we prevent the aggressive disease course of PTEN loss/inactive cancers? ⁦@EmilyGrist1⁩ ⁦@ChrisSweens1⁩ https://t.co/GiQQNVJhxr

  x.com ↗

Where Prof Gerhardt Attard has been quoted

1. NHS hospitals to test AI tool that helps diagnose and treat prostate cancertheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/65368-gert-attard
• Staff pagehttps://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/find-consultant/professor-gerhardt-attard
• Websitehttps://www.attardlab.compublished here ↗
• Xhttps://x.com/AttardLabpublished here ↗
• Press office emailci.contact@ucl.ac.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.