Dr Cook read Chemistry at the University of Nottingham coming to Cambridge in 1959 to undertake his doctoral research in the Department of the then Regius Professor of Physic. From 1963-65 he was a Research Associate, Department of Biochemistry, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles. He returned to Cambridge as a Member of the External Scientific Staff of the Medical Research Council, initially at the Strangeways Research Laboratory, moving in 1976 to the Department of Pharmacology, where the University granted him an Associate Lectureship. In 1977 he was a Canadian Commonwealth Research Fellow, Biological Sciences Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton. In 1986 he transferred his MRC appointment to the Department of Anatomy, now part of the Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, where as an Affiliated Lecturer he is undertaking research in developmental neurobiology.

Malcolm von Schantz is an internationally recognised researcher and an experienced educator, who received his training in Sweden, the United States, and the UK. He has recently joined Northumbria University from the University of Surrey, where he also served in leaderships positions as Associate Dean (International) and acting Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Relations). He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Malcolm's research focuses on circadian rhythms and sleep in humans, their molecular determinants, and their relationship with physical and mental health.

Lisiane gained her PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1994 and then became a post-doctoral fellow at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA. From 2009, Lisiane has been a Lecturer in DNA Damage and Ageing/Toxicology at the University of Surrey. 

Lisiane's research focusses on the study of cellular responses to stress and their importance in the pathogenesis and therapeutics of cancer and other chronic diseases. In particular, Lisiane's work has focused on alkylating agents, a ubiquitous family of reactive chemicals that are cytotoxic and mutagenic and pose significant threats to human health but are also commonly used systemically in the clinic as cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

Ann is currently the Director of Education for the Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Module Lead for Cardiovascular Science and Disease at University College London. Ann completed a PhD investigating cerebral DNA damage and repair in ageing and in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to training in genetics and postdoctoral studies at Duke University. This contributed to the eventual recognition of APOE4 as a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. APOE4 was later also recognised as a major genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

As a postdoctoral fellow at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Ann used a positional cloning strategy to identify the human glycerol kinase gene. She also played a major role in the mapping and identification of the gene responsible for adrenal hypoplasia congenita.

Ann's research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying disease as potential targets for treatment.

Keywords: Clinical sciences, immunology, paediatrics, cardiovascular medicine, medical biochemistry and metabolomics.

Miriam read a BSc in Applied Biology and on graduation she joined the biotech company Oxford Glycosystems as a Manufacturing Scientist.  Her PhD was undertaken at UCL Medical School in the Department of Surgery. After two periods of post-doctoral work she moved to the University of Westminster and set up her own lab where she has been based since 2002.  Miriam established the Cancer Research Group at the University of Westminster in 2011 and the MSc Biomedical Sciences Cancer Biology Pathway.

Miriam's research focusses on harnessing the glycosylation changes evident in cancer. This has included investigating and developing improved biomarkers and improving the action of anti-cancer agents by investigating the role of glycosylation inhibitors as anticancer agents.

Dr Simon Moore began as a BBSRC funded PhD student (2007-2011) with Professor Martin Warren (University of Kent), working on tetrapyrrole natural product biosynthesis, the so-called “pigments of life” (Battersby AR, Nat. Prod. Rep., 2000,17, 507-526). Significantly, Dr Moore and collaborators elucidated the anaerobic biosynthesis for both the vitamin B₁₂ and coenzyme F₄₃₀ tetrapyrrole pathways. In 2013, Simon joined Imperial College London with Professor Paul Freemont and Dr Karen Polizzi to study the rising field of synthetic biology and its potential for accelerating natural product discovery. Then, he began an Imperial College and Wellcome Trust ISSF fellowship in 2017 to study natural product biosynthesis in Streptomyces, including the development of a Streptomyces venezuelae cell-free protein synthesis system. In 2018, Simon re-joined the University of Kent as a lecturer, before transferring to the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London in 2023. Simon's research group works within the synthetic biology field, focusing on problems such as antimicrobial resistance and food security.

Keywords: synthetic biology, biosynthesis, cell-free systems, vitamin B12 / tetrapyrroles

James studied Biochemistry at Sheffield Hallam University, and completed an industrial placement year in the pharmaceutical sector based in Cambridge. Moving to the University of Nottingham in 2018, James competed an NIHR funded PhD studying the role of lipid metabolism in osteoarthritis, awarded in March 2023. Currently, James is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Nottingham and uses a range of analytical methods and omics techniques to study the molecular pathology of inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Mass Spectrometry, Omics, Inflammation, Pathology, Pain