Professor Andrew Cant

Professor Cant has been involved with The Bubble Foundation from the very beginning — more than 30 years ago — and has stepped up as Acting Chair since our previous Chair retired. He has been at the forefront of research into Primary Immune Deficiencies (PID) — exploring their genetic causes, improving stem cell transplantation, finding better ways to treat infections, and advancing our understanding of allergies in children.

For more than 45 years, Professor Cant has dedicated his career to caring for children with serious immune disorders. After training at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and L’Hôpital Necker in Paris, he moved to Newcastle in 1990 to establish one of only two UK national referral centres for children with severe immunological disorders. What began as a pioneering service is now a world-leading centre with a team of 11 Consultants and 6 Fellows, achieving over 90% success rates in radical, life-saving treatments.

Professor Cant’s leadership reaches far beyond Newcastle. Since 1999, he has served on the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) Board, including four years as its President, and he coordinated ERN RITA, a European network ensuring equal access to the best diagnostics and treatments for PID patients. His research has attracted more than £6 million in funding and produced over 300 peer-reviewed papers.

Alongside this Professor Cant has represented the Bubble Foundation on countless occasions, in person at events from social clubs to hotels and has been the face of the charity in many press articles. His support of the charity has been tireless, once he even had his hair cut to raise funds!

We are incredibly fortunate to have his expertise and dedication as our Chair. But we also want him to enjoy some well-earned rest! We are now looking for a new Chair to lead our work into the future. If you, or someone you know, might be interested, please get in touch.