Dr Simon VincentSector leader

Biography

Dr Simon Vincent is Chief Scientific Officer at Breast Cancer Now, the UK's largest breast cancer charity, a role he has held since 2025. He is responsible for the charity's research portfolio and public health work. He holds a PhD in genetics from the University of Nottingham and has worked with major UK medical charities for over 25 years, including Cancer Research Campaign (later Cancer Research UK) from 2000 and a secondment at the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013. He joined Breast Cancer Now in 2014, originally leading the research team, becoming Director of Research, Support and Influencing in 2020 before his appointment as Chief Scientific Officer. He is publicly known for commenting on breast cancer risk detection, limitations of NICE referral criteria, and funding for research into aggressive subtypes such as triple negative breast cancer.

References

1. 1.Simon Vincent | Breast Cancer Now (staff profile) — Confirms role as Chief Scientific Officer since 2025, PhD in genetics from University of Nottingham, career history including Cancer Research Campaign and Academy of Medical Sciences secondment
2. 2.Dr Simon Vincent – UKIBCS 2026 speaker profile — Confirms background as post-doc at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, joining Cancer Research Campaign in 2000, joining Breast Cancer Now in 2014, and leading the research team through the 2019 merger with Breast Cancer Care
3. 3.NICE referral criteria miss up to 95% of women under 50 – ICR news — Evidences Vincent's public commentary on cancer risk detection policy and NICE Family History guidelines, in his role as Chief Scientific Officer
4. 4.About our research | Breast Cancer Now — Confirms title of Chief Scientific Officer and that the charity funds over 90 research projects worth almost £30 million

Expertise

Cited on

• Cancer

Stated areas of expertise

• Breast cancer research funding
• Cancer risk detection and screening policy
• Triple negative breast cancer
• Research portfolio management
• Public health and cancer prevention
• Biomedical research management

Notable achievements

• Led Breast Cancer Now's research team through its 2019 merger with Breast Cancer Care, expanding the charity's combined research and support remit Source ↗
• Appointed Chief Scientific Officer at Breast Cancer Now in 2025, overseeing a research portfolio of over 90 projects worth almost £30 million Source ↗
• Publicly called for NICE Family History guidelines to be updated following research showing current referral criteria miss up to 95% of women under 50 who go on to develop breast cancer within 10 years Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “This first trial underlines the huge potential of AI to support radiologists in breast cancer screening. Screening is a vital tool for early detection, and the sooner the disease is found, the better chance of successful treatment.”

  Chief scientific officer at Breast Cancer Now · Cancer · 27 Aug 2026 · AI use in breast cancer screening cuts rate of later diagnosis by 12%, study finds ↗

• “These findings highlight the limitations of Nice's current referral criteria, and so this research must now be carefully considered as part of the current review of its family history guidelines.”

  Chief scientific officer at Breast Cancer Now · Cancer · 12 Aug 2026 · GPs’ breast cancer guidelines ‘miss’ 95% of young women who will develop disease ↗

Source references

1. AI use in breast cancer screening cuts rate of later diagnosis by 12%, study findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. GPs’ breast cancer guidelines ‘miss’ 95% of young women who will develop diseasetheguardian.com · 12 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://breastcancernow.org/about-us/our-people/simon-vincent
• Press office emailpress@breastcancernow.orgpublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/simon-vincent-26b7aaa

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