Nicholas Dyson, PhD, is a Saltonstall Scholar at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Dyson received his PhD from the University of Manchester and reached Boston by way of Amersham International, PLC, a health science company, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Dr. Dyson is a senior scientist at Mass General’s Center for Cancer Research in Charlestown, Mass., where he directs a cutting-edge laboratory. A geneticist, Dr. Dyson has made breakthroughs in our understanding of how cells divide — both the regulated division of a normal cell and the abnormal proliferation of a malignant cancer. By using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a genetic model organism, Dr. Dyson has uncovered basic cellular mechanisms that are harder to discern in more complicated human cells.

These findings have the potential to guide the design of novel genetically focused therapies for many cancers, including breast cancer, a disease that has afflicted Dr. Dyson’s family.

Mass General honors 100 individuals and groups for their diverse contributions to the fight against cancer.

There is strength in numbers and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center proves this each year. the one hundred is the Cancer Center’s annual fundraiser, honoring 100 individuals and groups whose diligence and discoveries, philanthropy and passion have helped advance the fight against cancer. Funds raised at the gala support research, patient care, education and community outreach programs.  Meet the Honorees.