I have had the privilege of working in the NHS for over 30 years, having qualified in 1988 from the University of Bristol, trained at the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital and then completing a PhD (with 1st class with honours) in tumour immunology at the University of Paris (I speak fluent French). For 20 years, I have been a consultant at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and a researcher at the University of London (Queen Mary) in Haemato-Oncology (cancers of the blood system), managing leukaemias, myeloma, lymphomas and performing stem cell transplants for these diseases. I am recognised as an expert in the field of infections in immunocompromised patients with cancer and an authority on life-threatening invasive fungal infections. I am a member of several UK government and international bodies addressing infection and resistance to antibiotics and anti-fungal drugs. I have setup a 'remote monitoring' service for patients with blood cancers, which has won several national awards and has been very positively welcomed by patients. I remain an active researcher and publish widely in medical/scientific journals, as well as running the largest annual European congress focussed on serious fungal infections.