Joshua Atkins

Dr Joshua Atkins is a senior genomic epidemiologist in the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (CEU) where he leads research in the intersection of genomics, epidemiology and cancer biology. His research focus is on identifying genetic risk factors for cancer development and progression, with a particular emphasis on common cancers.

Within the CEU, Dr Atkins leads a research project on identifying and understanding the factors that drive aggressive prostate cancer, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between genetics, molecular and tumour characteristics. He also leads research on investigating the role of rare germline variation combined with common genetic susceptibility across common cancers, with a focus on early on-set cancers. 

Dr Atkins is a member of several consortia including the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alteration in the Genome (PRACTICAL), the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO) and in the ENIGMA CNV working group.  

He received his bachelor’s degree with first class honours in Biomedical Science from the University of Newcastle, Australia, before earning his PhD in Medical Genetics. Dr Atkins completed his post-doctoral training at the International Agency for Research on Cancer – The World Health Organisation, working in the Genomic Epidemiology Branch (GEM). During this time, he focussed on investigating germline genetic factors associated with lung cancer, as well as germline determinants of mutational signatures within the Mutographs project.