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Harnessing microbiology to tackle global challenges

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Biography

My background is in organic chemistry and throughout my career I have worked on playing the science to biological questions. Our work on epigenetic histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors led to the startup Karus Therapeutics that advanced two oncology products to clinical trials. I am currently on committees of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and serve as editor of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

My current research interests are two-fold:

  1. The discovery of novel small molecules that modulate epigenetic enzymes such as HDACs, histone acetyltransferases, lysine methyltransferases and demethylases.
  2. Targeting antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, fungi and parasites through the discovery of novel natural products and synthetic molecules. This includes the study of microorganisms with complex life cycles such as the truffle fungus and the Gibellula genus that grows on spiders.