Dr Salah El-Sharkawi MBE is a retired consultant oncologist and director of the cancer services at the Southwest Wales cancer Centre. He received his medical degree from Cairo University and his postgraduate degree in oncology (FRCR) from London (1979).
He trained in oncology in Leeds and was appointed as consultant oncologist in Swansea in 1980. In addition to his clinical work in oncology, he cultivated many research partnerships with different departments, as wide-ranging as medical physics, chemistry, and biology, within Swansea University that led to numerous publications in national and international journals. His research work centred on tumour markers and the pharmacokinetics of chemotherapeutic agents in normal and cancer tissues and organs.
Dr El-Sharkawi was mainly interested in the role that clinical medical entrepreneurship can play in revitalising his organisation, and improving the quality of cancer care to the population he served. This led to the foundation and development of the Southwest Wales Cancer Centre that included: a radiotherapy centre, Chemotherapy unit, Breast cancer centre, IT unit, Cancer research institutes, Cancer Hostel and the first teenage cancer trust unit in Wales.
In his role as the oncology advisor to the Welsh office and assembly he helped in setting up the business case and providing the quality assurance for the creation of the North Wales Cancer Centre.
His clinical, academic, research, and managerial work was recognised through many distinctions awards from the National Health Service, fellowships from Metropolitan University and Swansea University and an MBE bestowed by HRH the late Queen Elizabeth for services to medicine and medical care.