About Us

The Physician Scientist was developed to help nurture and develop research skills amongst those of investigative minds. This non-profit has been designed to help address some of the issues behind delays of the ‘bench to bedside’ process of getting research ideas into transformative, effective outcomes for patients more sooner. Based on hundreds of surveys amongst health professionals, a large number of respondents wanted to engage with research but did not know how to, or were not given the tools to do so. Other respondents felt that a research career was unsupported, beyond them and felt they lacked access to mentors for guidance.

Dr Norris Igbineweka is founder and director of The Physician Scientist, and is a haematology registrar at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is also presently doing his PhD towards discovering novel genes for inherited, rare anaemias as part of an Imperial College London, Department of Haematology& Oxford University, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine collaboration. He has a deep interest in red blood cell disease and anaemias. His lifelong research interests are to help uncover molecular and genetic underpinnings which govern haematological particular erythroid traits in order to guide predictors of phenotype, clinical severity and treatment strategies.

Although clinically trained, Norris has sought out numerous research experiences to develop scientific / laboratory training with particular interest in genetics. During his clinical training, he completed both academic foundation and academic clinical foundation programmes allowing him to gain both clinical and research experience. He worked at Prof. Swee Lay Thein’s lab where he was able develop understanding for fetal haemoglobin (HbF)’ a key biological modulator of phenotype in sickle cell anaemia, and show novel, possibly pathogenic relationship of HbF genetic loci in other blood disorders like myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative disorders.

Norris Igbineweka

Founder & Director

As well as excelling in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels such as having a First Class Honours in Medical Sciences with Anthropology at University College London, and a distinction in his Masters in Medical Research degree at Brighton & Sussex Medical School, he has also been awarded many prizes such as The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and awards such as a Fulbright Scholarship where he spent a year at the National Institutes of Health, USA undertaking cellular, molecular biological and genetic biomarker research in sickle cell disease.

He is also passionate about teaching and initiated in 2012, a national haematology teaching programme for medical students; and in 2013, for core medical trainees. This programme is still running successfully today, and now as part of the national educational portfolio of the British Society of Haematology.