Image background: Cambridge Medicine Journal Autumn 1997 cover illustration by School of Clinical Medicine alumna Dr Angela Luck.
Celebrating 50 years of excellence in teaching, innovation and patient care
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the School of Clinical Medicine.
Here you'll find highlights of our celebrations and details of upcoming events, alumni and medical research stories, and opportunities to support the School's mission.
School of Clinical Medicine 50th Anniversary Booklet
Discover the School's milestones and the achievements that have shaped our first five decades.
Read more
Reflections from the Regius
In June we held a very special weekend to celebrate our milestones and vision for the future. Across four events over two days, over 230 alumni attended the School's 50th anniversary celebrations. Our alumni were joined by current and former faculty members who have taught and inspired generations of students, as well as the families of Dr Theo Chalmers, the School’s first Clinical Dean, and Lord Butterfield, the School’s first Regius Professor of Physic. It was a privilege to also welcome our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, to share in the School’s milestone celebrations.
Peers and mentors exchanged memories of their time here, and shared where their careers have taken them since graduation. I enjoyed speaking with so many alumni; it was inspiring to hear about the remarkable impact you continue to have across research, teaching and patient care and many other fields around the world. What struck me throughout the reunion was the enduring bond you share with the School and with each other, and the truly international nature of our alumni community: guests travelled from across the UK and Europe as well as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Saturday's conference, with presentations from students and professors alike, demonstrated the School's remarkable progress over the past 50 years and the extraordinary growth of our Biomedical Campus as Europe’s leading hub of advancements in healthcare and life sciences innovation. The celebratory dinner at Downing College – where the School’s Foundation Regius Professor was Master – concluded with a speech from prominent venture capital investor and philanthropist Dr Gerald Chan. Gerald looked to the future of medicine and urged us to equip the next generation of medical students with a curious and entrepreneurial spirit, ensuring they develop and embrace the technologies set to transform medicine and healthcare.
Whether or not you were able to join us in June, I encourage you to explore this 50th anniversary webpage which showcases the School's achievements and community.
Best wishes,
Patrick
Professor Patrick H. Maxwell CBE FMedSci
Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine
Clinical research at Alumni Festival 2026
This year's Alumni Festival (18 to 20 September) is your chance to learn more about the latest innovations in medicine and healthcare from across the School's Departments, Institutes and Research Units.
Sessions include:
- The UPF concept: good, bad or ugly?
Professor Giles Yeo and Professor Dame Theresa Marteau - Fighting antimicrobial resistance with Artificial Intelligence
Professor Andres Floto - Blood cancers: advancing prevention and transforming treatment
Professor Brian Huntly and Professor George Vassiliou - Traumatic Brain Injury: from impact to recovery
Professor Peter Hutchinson and Dr Virginia Newcombe - The path to environmentally sustainable digital healthcare
Dr Jan van der Scheer, Dr James Smith and Dr Loïc Lannelongue - The impact of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus: the next 50 years
Dame Mary Archer, Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, Dr Jan Löwe, Professor Patrick Maxwell and Dr Kristin-Anne Rutter
