Advisors and Founders

Laurence is a graduate of Hatfield Polytechnic, UK (BSc, Hons, Applied Biology) undertaking an industrial year in the Dept. of Biochemical Engineering, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Oxon and obtained his PhD from the University of London (Chelsea Dept of Pharmacy) working with John Gorrod on the synthesis and metabolism of arylamines.

Laurence spent several years in the pharma industry as a senior scientist in R&D with Fisons Pharma (now AstraZeneca). He has subsequently held several academic positions at DeMontfort University, progressing to Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry before being appointed Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry at The School of Pharmacy, University of London (now UCL School of Pharmacy). Laurence is currently Professor of Drug Discovery and Director of the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Bradford, where he oversees facilities for synthetic and medicinal chemistry, compound analysis, in vitro pharmacology, DMPK, in vivo pharmacology and tumour biology. The ICT houses the clinical laboratory for the Leeds-Bradford Experimental Cancer Medicines Centres (ECMC), funded by NIHR/CRUK. It additionally houses a licenced research tissue bank, Ethical Tissue and ICT Biosciences, the commercial arm of the ICT’s research activities.

Laurence has published over 100 papers and patents concerned with the discovery and development of new drugs and is a founding shareholder of Incanthera Ltd. He is also founding (and non-executive) director of Biostatus Ltd. He was elected an honorary member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2007, and a visiting Professor of Drug Discovery to the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing in 2008 and to SouthWestern University, Chongqing in 2011 working with Prof Hongjuan Cui. He also has close research links with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica.

Alan obtained his BSc (Hons) in chemistry from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and his PhD in the area of radiation induced redox reactions of cytochrome-C. He then spent several years in anticancer drug discovery research institutes including Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester as a Head of Drug Development and Imaging. Later he was appointed as an Honorary Lecturer at University of Manchester in the Department of Experimental Oncology, School of Medicine. In 2002 he become Chair of Molecular Drug Design Centre at University of Salford. Alan is a laureate of many prestige awards including Society of Chemical Industry Prize and Levin Prize for Physical Chemistry. He is also member of following professional bodies: European Organisation for Research in the Treatment of Cancer, Pharmacokinetics, Metabolism and Mechanism Group, a member of joint European-United States (EORTC/NCI) Drug Review Committee and Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (formerly United Kingdom Children’s Cancer Study Group) – New Agents Group. His research interest focused on the VDA and bioreductive anticancer agents with particular interest in the childhood cancers. Alan is an named co-inventor of many patents including RH1, Es5 and Stilebenes.

Paul is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Deputy Director, Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, University of Bradford. Paul obtained his PhD from the University of Bradford, UK, studying the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of anti-cancer drugs. He is an expert in the bioanalysis of drugs and has studied a wide range of clinically available and novel small molecules including antimetabolites, platinating and alkylating agents, peptides and antivascular compounds. Paul is actively involved in the design, analysis and reporting of pre-clinical and clinical pharmacokinetic studies and acts as a pharmacokinetic and drug metabolism consultant for numerous US and European pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

John obtained his BSc (Hons) in chemistry from the University of Nottingham and a PhD in the field of Organic Chemistry from Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham. He then spent several years in academia, including the University of Warwick where he investigated biogenesis of the o-xylene unit of riboflavin. Later he moved to the Paterson Institute, Christie Hospital in Manchester where his research focus was on new drug targets. He was instrumental in the development of the anti-vascular agents at the Patterson Institute where he was a team leader. His latest post is as Group Leader for Molecular Bioscience Programmes at the University of Salford. John is co-inventor of many anticancer agents including Es5, Combretastatin A-4 and Stilbenes. His research expertise focuses on the anticancer drug chemistry especially bioreductive and vascular disrupting agents.

Robert is a medicinal chemist and registered pharmacist having obtained his BPharm degree at The School of Pharmacy, University of London. Following a brief period as a hospital pharmacist, he returned to London to undertake a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry. He then became Research and Teaching Fellow, and was subsequently appointed Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences. His early research was focused on chemical approaches to drug delivery, with a specific interest in carbohydrates, peptides and lipids. He was then appointed to his current position of Lecturer then Reader, in Medicinal Chemistry at the  Institute of Cancer  Therapeutics,  University  of Bradford.  Robert  is a member  of several  professional organisations, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is an elected member of the EPSRC peer review college and honorary treasurer for the RSC Central Yorkshire Section. His research focuses on the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of cancer therapeutics. Specifically he is interested in developing molecules that target the glycocalyx, the carbohydrate layer that decorates the cancer cell, and in the development of protease-activated anti- cancer agents. He has published numerous peer-reviewed research articles and meeting abstracts, and is an inventor on four patents. He is the lead medicinal chemist at the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics for ICT2588 and the protease-activated cancer drug discovery opportunity.

Jason is a Reader in Molecular Therapeutics within the School of Pharmacy at Newcastle University.

He gained his PhD in the field of Molecular Toxicology from the University of Manchester, a MRC-case studentship with Zeneca Central Toxicology Laboratories in Macclesfield (subsequently Astrazeneca). After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre in Leeds he joined the University of Bradford as a lecturer in Molecular Pathology and was later promoted to a Senior Lectureship in Molecular Pharmacology. Jason moved to Durham University and then to his current location at Newcastle University as an Associate Professor/Reader in Molecular Therapeutics.

Jason’s research interests lie in the areas of preclinical safety assessment of cancer therapeutics and anticancer drug discovery and development, particularly identification and development of tumour-selective cancer therapeutics with reduced systemic toxicity.