Author - Charlotte Turpin

The annual RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to medicinal chemistry and drug discovery in their independent academic career, and is open to candidates who received their PhD within the last 10 years.

Congratulations to Christoph Nitsche, the winner of the 2023 Emerging Investigator Lectureship. Dr Nitsche’s interdisciplinary research program focuses on infectious diseases, bioorthogonal chemistry, and peptide and protein modification. Please click on the below links to be taken to the website or blog post to read more about the winner and the Lectureship:

https://www.rsc.org/journals-books-databases/about-journals/rsc-medicinal-chemistry/rsc-medicinal-chemistry-emerging-investigator-lectureship-award/

https://blogs.rsc.org/md/2023/05/23/winner-of-the-2023-rsc-medicinal-chemistry-emerging-investigator-lectureship/?doing_wp_cron=1685455148.9952039718627929687500

Thanks to all our speakers, poster presenters, delegates, sponsors and exhibitors for making Postgraduate Symposium XVI at University of Oxford on 9 December 2022 a great success.

Congratulations to Nicola Ashman of University of Cambridge, winner of best oral presentation and Jennifer Carter of University of Oxford, runner-up. Winner of the best poster was Clara Gathmann of UCL, and runner-up was Harry Wilders of University of Strathclyde and GSK. Rebecca Stevens of University of Strathclyde and GSK was voted by delegates as winner of the people’s poster prize.

The past year has been another extremely challenging one, to say the least. I’d imagine that most committee members have had their full course of COVID vaccinations, and their booster shots too. I haven’t heard about a new round of boosters, but I wouldn’t bet against it!

In the face of these external challenges we have adapted and continued with our regular programme of activities. Virtual and blended meetings have gone ahead, and been tremendously successful, on both a scientific and financial basis, though it has to be said that delegate feedback from the blended meetings suggests there is a strong desire for a return to more physical meetings. The ESG, BMCS Lectureships, Hall of Fame and International Travel Prize Initiatives have carried on, and continued to draw interest from applicants as well as recognition for the impact of the Group. Our links with RSC Medicinal Chemistry have been strengthened, to mutual benefit, as have our interactions with other scientific societies and organisations. Many of the latter have looked to us for our experience and expertise in running virtual and hybrid meetings. I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to everyone in the group who’s helped to drive these initiatives forward, they wouldn’t be happening without your hard work.

We are delighted to announce our new Editor-in-Chief for RSC Medicinal Chemistry, Professor Mike Waring.

“RSC Medicinal Chemistry is one of the premier medicinal chemistry journals and we look forward to continuing to publish cutting edge science with the highest standards of rigour. I hope that the work published in the journal will lead to the continued dissemination and evolution of best practice in our discipline that will drive our ability to deliver new therapies more effectively.”

About Mike:

Mike Waring is Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at Newcastle University and Head of Chemistry for the Cancer Research UK Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit.  He was previously Principal Scientist in Medicinal Chemistry at AstraZeneca.

Mike has worked mainly in the areas of diabetes and oncology and his work has contributed to the discovery of 14 drug candidates, including the marketed EGFR inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso™). He has made significant contributions to the field in many areas, perhaps most notably property-based optimisation, covalent inhibition, novel binding modes and new methods of hit generation.  He is a 2018 American Chemical Society Hero of Chemistry, recipient of the 2017 RSC Malcolm Campbell Medal, and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.