He trained in Clinical Oncology at Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield and the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. Professor Makris was appointed Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, in 1997.
He specialises in the treatment of breast cancer and has published over 100 papers related to breast cancer research. He is co-Chief Investigator of the OPTIMA Trial which is investigating whether adjuvant chemotherapy can be avoided in women with high-risk early breast cancer.
He is the Chief Investigator of the RESPECT trial that aims to establish the role of Whole-Body MRI in the evaluation of bone metastases in advanced breast cancer. He is the co-Chairman of the UK Breast Cancer Group (UKBCG) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the UK Inter-disciplinary Breast Cancer Meeting.
He has served as an adviser to NICE and has been a member of the Scientific Committee of the Breast Cancer Campaign and the NCRI Breast Cancer Group.
He set-up the Fighting Breast Cancer charity to support breast cancer research at Mount Vernon Hospital and has been supporting the Faraja Cancer Support in Kenya.