CRT - Scientific Advisory Board

Herbie Newell is Professor of Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Director of Translational Research at Cancer Research UK. He is Past-Chairman of the British Association for Cancer Research, and the Laboratory Research Division and the Pharmacology and Molecular Mechanisms Group of the EORTC. Professor Newell was involved in the development of the licensed anticancer drugs carboplatin (Paraplatin) and ralitrexed (Tomudex). His current research interests include the development of molecularly-targeted anticancer drugs, in particular kinase inhibitors, and the identification of drugs that modulate DNA repair as a mechanism for over coming resistance to cytotoxic drugs and radiotherapy.

He is an author of over 180 scientific articles and Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. Professor Newell has acted as a consultant for international and national Pharma and Biotech companies including: Astex Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Aventis, Biotica, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Novartis, OSI Pharmaceuticals and Xenova.

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Dr Barry Ross

Barry Ross is an independent advisor in drug discovery and biotechnology and is a member of the board of a number of early stage drug discovery and biotechnology companies. Dr Ross received a B.Sc and Ph.D in chemistry from Imperial College, London. He has held a number of senior company positions, including CEO and Scientific Director of the Affymax Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA and Director of Group Research Strategy and Alliances at GlaxoWellcome, where he was also responsible for the international lead discovery strategy. Dr Ross has been a member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Vice Chairman for the Department of Trade and Industry’s Technology Foresight Committee. Dr Ross has published over 50 scientific papers and is an inventor on 35 patents and specialises in early stage drug discovery strategy and technologies.

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Dr Karen Zinkewich-Péotti

Dr. Karen Zinkewich-Péotti is VP Oncology Research at UCB, a leading global biopharmaceutical company (www.ucb-group.com). She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Montréal, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Georgetown University. She joined Celltech in 1993 and worked on a number of antibody and small molecule projects. Dr. Zinkewich-Péotti joined Aventis (Paris) in 2000 and took on a number of roles there, ultimately with overall responsibility for Oncology Research. She returned to Celltech (now UCB) in 2002 to spearhead a new Oncology initiative, establishing a portfolio of antibody and small molecule projects. She has led research efforts that have resulted in three clinical compounds, with the most advanced, currently in Phase 2 trials. She says: “Oncology research and cancer patient care have been my passion for many years, and despite the challenges, I remain optimistic that our increased understanding of the disease, will lead to significant treatment breakthroughs.”

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Prof Paul Workman

Professor Paul Workman is Director of the Cancer Research UK Centre for Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute for Cancer Research, Sutton, UK. He is also the Harrap Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in The Institute and the University of London and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Manchester and Leeds. Previous positions include Cancer Research Section Head at AstraZeneca (1993-1997); Director of Laboratory Research and Cancer Research UK Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapy in the Department of Medical Oncology, Beatson Laboratories, University of Glasgow (1990-1993); UICC sabbatical visitor to Stanford University and Stanford Research International, California (1989); and staff member of the Medical Research Council Clinical Oncology Unit, MRC Centre, Cambridge University (1976-1990). Professor Workman is a Cancer Research UK Life Fellow (1991) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2002). He has published over 360 research articles in cancer pharmacology and drug development and edited several books and journal issues in the field. Professor Workman has been closely involved with a number of drugs that have entered clinical development, including gefitinib (Iressa). He has been a consultant to large range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and is a Scientific Founder of Chroma Therapeutics and Piramed Pharma. His current research interests are in the development of new molecular cancer therapeutics, particularly HSP90 and PI3 kinase inhibitors.

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