Dr Matthew Williams

Professional statement

Dr Matthew Williams is a leading consultant in clinical oncology and a researcher in the London area with more than 20 years of experience in his field, specialising in neuro-oncology, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, brain and spinal tumours, and IMRT (intensity-modulation radiation therapy). His primary focus is on adult patients with primary and secondary (metastatic) brain tumours. He has a particular interest in developing and applying new treatment approaches, including a second course of radio therapy (re-radiation), and the clinical use of next-generation sequencing to identify options for targeted treatment. 

He completed his undergradute studies in Birmingham, where he then moved to London to become a Senior House Officer at Hammersmith Hospital. After a year in The Gambia running the A&E department, he returned to the UK to complete his clinical oncology training in London. He was awarded PhD funding through Cancer Research UK's (CRUK) Advanced Computation Lab, and holds a PhD in Computer Science from UCL. 

As of 2012, Dr Williams has been a consultant and honorary senior lecturer with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; in 2018 he was promoted to Honorary Senior Fellow at Imperial College.

He leads the Computational Oncology group at Imperial College, where his research focuses on the application of technology and computing to improve cancer care. Dr Williams supervises a range of PhD/MD students with Imperial College researching and studying projects. Recent work includes work on using wearable technology in patients with brain tumour in the BrainWear trial and understanding treatments, as well as outcomes for patients with brain tumours across England in the GlioCova project. He teaches about brain tumours on a European course in oncology and led the London ICR course module on brain tumours for several years.

Dr Matthews' current clinical focus is on the delivery of novel drugs and drug/radiotherapy combinations for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumours. He took part in the first UK expanded access scheme to use Optune widely, and runs the UK's largest Optune clinic. Dr Matthews is one of the few people experienced across all three main stereotactic modalities (Gamma Knife, Cyberknife, and LINAC-based SRS). He also helped found the Advanced Therapies Group at Imperial, which explores the integration of cutting-edge research and clinical practice to deliver novel therapies to patients with brain tumours.