Pharmacology and Drug Discovery MRes/PhD Supervisors
- Steve Alexander (Endogenous cannabinoid system, with particular focus on inflammation and pain).
- Steve Briddon (Molecular Pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors and advanced fluorescence imaging).
- Matthias Brock (Fungi, Metabolism, Fungal Infections, Therapy, neutral Products, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology).
- Meritxell Canals (G protein-coupled receptor signalling and drug-screening with a focus on inflammation and pain).
- Victoria Chapman (Lipid mediators of inflammation, the endocannabinoid system, and mechanisms in osteoarthritic pain).
- Gareth Hathway (Pain, neuroinflammation, brain, spinal cord, cancer, opioids, childhood, neural networks, analgesia). How does cancer treatment affect the developing brain? And how can we better protect children and adolescents from the long-term neurological consequences of both disease and the medicines used to treat it? Our research group investigates how cancer and its treatment shape the developing nervous system, with a particular focus on pain, cognition, anxiety, and brain function across childhood and adolescence. Although survival rates for pediatric cancers have improved dramatically, many young patients experience persistent pain, emotional difficulties, and cognitive challenges that can last long after treatment ends. Understanding why this happens—and how to prevent it—is a major challenge in modern medicine.
- Ian Kerr (ATP binding cassette transporters, membrane protein expression and purification, transmembrane transport, enzymes in pain processing, paediatric brain tumour cell biology, extracellular vesicles).
- Madeleine King (Neuropharmacology, drug discovery, drug delivery, schizophrenia, depression, autism, stress, behaviour, gut microbiome-brain axis).
- Rob Lane (Neuropharmacology of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) function and signalling)
- Ian Mellor (Ion channel pharmacology and electrophysiology, naturally occurring neurotoxins and pesticides targeting ion channels). My research is focused on several important ion channels of the nervous system including nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, ionotropic glutamate receptors, voltage-gated sodium channels and TRP channels, and how their functioning is modulated by a variety of naturally occurring animal and plant toxins, drugs and pesticides. These compounds are excellent tools to study the structure and functioning of ion channels but also represent leads for the development of new drugs and pesticides. We are also trying to understand the molecular basis of pesticide susceptibility and resistance in target pests and toxicity to non-target organisms, including humans. Specific current interests are peptide toxins from centipede venom, alkaloids from ladybirds, polyamine-containing toxins from solitary wasps and pyrethroid insecticides. I am also interested in the development of multi-target directed ligands for Alzheimer's disease, in my case assessing their ability to inhibit NMDA receptor mediated calcium current that can lead to excitotoxicity.
- Michael Okun (Systems and computational neuroscience, high-density in vivo electrophysiology, action of psychedelic drugs). Our laboratory is interested in cortical circuit dynamics, particularly in the spontaneous activity regime and over long timescales. Our lab employs electrophysiological and computational methods to explore the activity of individual neurons and neuronal populations in normal conditions and under the influence of psychoactive compounds.
- Marie Pardon (Stress, ageing and neurodegenerative diseases).
- Chloe Peach (receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling, studying how they are modulated by growth factors, drugs or their local microenvironment, with a focus on neuronal regeneration). Despite major advances in our understanding of human biology, over 90% of drugs fail in patients. Many drugs target receptors, as membrane proteins that detect extracellular stimuli and evoke intracellular responses. RTKs are a family of 58 membrane proteins that respond to growth factors. These large ligands trigger signalling cascades that lead to cell proliferation, avoidance of cell death and initiation of migratory processes. They are therefore major targets in the field of oncology, however RTKs have wide-reaching pathological implications. Neurotrophins, for example, are a family of growth factors that stimulate neuronal growth. These growth factors, as well as their receptors, are promising targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease (agonists) or chronic pain (antagonists), however they lack clinically approved drugs.
- Vera Ralevic (Endothelium; purines (P1 and P2 receptors); cannabinoids; vanilloids).
- Richard Roberts (Cardiovascular pharmacology including the study of signal transduction pathways that mediate vasoconstriction).
- Graham Sheridan (Ageing; Alzheimer’s disease; Cancer related cognitive impairment; Mechanobiology; Myelin repair; Neurogenesis; Neuroinflammation; Synaptic plasticity). My research investigates how ageing, neuroinflammation, and immune dysfunction disrupt key physiological processes in the brain, including neurogenesis, myelin repair, and synaptic plasticity. Focusing on disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer related cognitive impairment, I study the molecular mechanisms that alter neuron–glial communication, impair myelination, and reshape the synaptic proteome. The overarching goal is to uncover the cellular and molecular drivers of maladaptive plasticity and to identify new drug targets that can promote repair and regeneration of the central nervous system after injury or in disease. In parallel, I collaborate with experts in mechanobiology and biomaterials to understand how changes in the mechanical properties of brain tissue and the extracellular matrix influence neuronal plasticity and glial cell behaviour. By integrating bioengineering principles with cellular neuroscience, our aim is to pinpoint druggable biomechanical and neurochemical pathways that can restore synaptic function, support neural repair, and improve cognitive health in neurological conditions that currently lack effective treatments.
- Paul Smith (Patch-clamp, electrophysiology, pharmacology, ion channels, physiology, electrochemistry, sympathetic, white fat adipocytes, pancreatic beta-cell). I’m fascinated by how cells work: how their behaviour is shaped by the electrical language of ion channels. My primary focus is the membrane membrane physiology of white adipocytes, especially during the hyperplasia and hypertrophy that accompany weight gain and obesity. I am also interested in how their extracellular matrix controls the ion flux and membrane potential of this cell type. I am also exploring how lipophilic molecules—ranging from therapeutic drugs to persistent “forever chemicals”—are stored, mobilized, and ultimately influence adipocyte function.
- Dmitry Veprintsev (Developing approaches for incorporation of protein and systems dynamics GPCRs into drug discovery).
Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Supervisors
- Jill Baker (Molecular pharmacology of GPCRs; How clinical drugs act, why side effects occur, to help discover molecules without these side effects).
- Boyan Bonev (Structural biology; computational biology; biophysics; NMR; membrane proteins; membrane lipids; AMR; bacterial physiology; solvent tolerant bacteria; antimicrobial drug design). Research in the Bonev lab is focused on the study of the organisation and composition of cell membranes, the interfaces of life, to understand their compositional variation and stability. Primary tools include solid state NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), molecular dynamics simulations and other advanced biophysical and computational techniques. The team is interested in the molecular mechanisms of infection and resistance to antibiotics. To understand and tackle bacteria, resistant to antibiotics, they study bacterial physiology and specific molecular targets, which they use to develop new approaches for antimicrobial intervention and bacterial control. Work is funded primarily by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), as well as the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
- Matthias Brock (Fungi, Metabolism, Fungal Infections, Therapy, neutral Products, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology).
- Steve Hill (Ligand binding; GPCRs).
- Chloe Peach (receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling, studying how they are modulated by growth factors, drugs or their local microenvironment, with a focus on neuronal regeneration). Despite major advances in our understanding of human biology, over 90% of drugs fail in patients. Many drugs target receptors, as membrane proteins that detect extracellular stimuli and evoke intracellular responses. RTKs are a family of 58 membrane proteins that respond to growth factors. These large ligands trigger signalling cascades that lead to cell proliferation, avoidance of cell death and initiation of migratory processes. They are therefore major targets in the field of oncology, however RTKs have wide-reaching pathological implications. Neurotrophins, for example, are a family of growth factors that stimulate neuronal growth. These growth factors, as well as their receptors, are promising targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease (agonists) or chronic pain (antagonists), however they lack clinically approved drugs.
- Clive Roberts (formulation, 3D printing, medicines manufacture, nanotechnology, analaysis, technology transfer). My research interests are concentrated on the application of novel analytical and formulation strategies to develop new medicines and biomedical devices. Priority areas are the exploitation of novel manufacturing routes for medicines manufacture, based around 3D printing and the application of statistical/AI modelling and nanoscale methods for early-stage screening of medicine formulations.
Clinical Chemistry Supervisors
- Richard Roberts (Cardiovascular pharmacology including the study of signal transduction pathways that mediate vasoconstriction).
Cell Signalling Supervisors
- Steve Alexander (Endogenous cannabinoid system, with particular focus on inflammation and pain).
- Babatunde Okesola (Biomaterials, self-assembling materials, hydrogel technology, immune-instructive, redox biology, peptides design, nanomedicine, regenerative medicine). My research focuses on the design and translation of advanced biomaterials for applications in regenerative medicine and nanomedicine, with particular emphasis on self-assembling materials, nanozymes and hydrogel technology. I develop bioinspired material systems that mimic key aspects of the cellular microenvironment to regulate tissue repair, immune responses, and cellular function. By integrating principles from peptide design, nanotechnology, materials science, and cell biology, my work aims to create dynamic and tuneable biomaterials capable of guiding biological processes in a controlled manner.
- Steve Briddon (Molecular Pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors and advanced fluorescence imaging).
- Meritxell Canals (G protein-coupled receptor signalling and drug-screening with a focus on inflammation and pain).
- Rob Lane (Neuropharmacology of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) function and signalling).
- Andrew Renault (Drosophila, germ cells, cell migration, embryogenesis).
- Paul Smith (Patch-clamp, electrophysiology, pharmacology, ion channels, physiology, electrochemistry, sympathetic, white fat adipocytes, pancreatic beta-cell). I’m fascinated by how cells work: how their behaviour is shaped by the electrical language of ion channels. My primary focus is the membrane membrane physiology of white adipocytes, especially during the hyperplasia and hypertrophy that accompany weight gain and obesity. I am also interested in how their extracellular matrix controls the ion flux and membrane potential of this cell type. I am also exploring how lipophilic molecules—ranging from therapeutic drugs to persistent “forever chemicals”—are stored, mobilized, and ultimately influence adipocyte function.
- Dmitry Veprintsev (Developing approaches for incorporation of protein and systems dynamics GPCRs into drug discovery).
- Uwe Vinkemeier (Neuroimmunology and cytokine-regulation of STAT transcriptional activity in the immune system).
- Sally Wheatley (mitosis, cytokinesis, mitochondria, survivin, cancer, cytoskeleton, biochemistry, cell biology, microscopy) My work focusses on a small protein called "survivin" that is involved in many cellular processes. It has been extensively studied by oncologists as it is highly overexpressed in all cancers. However, it is not an enzyme, and so targetting it for therapeutic gain has not been hugely successful. Survivin does everything in collaboration - its interactome is vast and list of interactors ever increasing. Found in different parts of the cell at different times, as a chromosomal passenger protein, survivin is essential for mitosis and cytokinesis, but it is also an inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) and its presence in the cytoplasm correlates with poor repsonse to chemo and radiation therapies. More recently, it has become appreciated that when it is in the nucleus it can alter transcriptional programming, and this seems to have relevance to cells experience stress such as hypoxia. In identifying novel survivin interactors, we hope to find an association that could be targetted for therapeutic purposes.