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Peter Fischer

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and CBS Director, Faculty of Science

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Biography

I gained my first degree and PhD in organic and medicinal chemistry under the supervision of Merlin EH Howden in Australia (Macquarie and Deakin Universities). After a short stint in a lectureship at Deakin University I entered into the biotechnology sector with a university drug discovery spin-out company in 1990. I later moved to Norway, where I helped Nycomed (now part of GE Healthcare), a world-leading diagnostics company, establish a medicinal chemistry unit as part of a new therapeutics division. In 1997 I joined Sir David Lane at Cyclacel (then a Dundee-based start-up and now a public biopharmaceuticals company) to established chemistry and drug design capabilities, and subsequently led the discovery research activities at Cyclacel for almost eight years. Cancer drug candidates that we discovered during that period are currently under clinical investigation. After a 15-year career in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry research and development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, I took the Chair in Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham in mid-2005.

Research Summary

A large part of my experience is in cancer drug design against conventional drug targets such as protein kinases and other enzyme targets, as well as unconventional targets such as protein-protein… read more

Selected Publications

Current Research

A large part of my experience is in cancer drug design against conventional drug targets such as protein kinases and other enzyme targets, as well as unconventional targets such as protein-protein interactions. In my new appointment I am using this background in order to initiate and pursue translational research activities with an emphasis on novel approaches and targets, as well as therapeutic applications that are being neglected by the commercial sector and where there exists an urgent medical need for new treatments. My core expertise is medicinal chemistry, including synthetic methodology and molecular modeling and design, but my interests extend into most disciplines relevant to drug discovery and development, especially structural biology, molecular and cell biology, and pharmacology.

Since joining the School of Pharmacy in the summer of 2005 I have initiated a number of research projects, mostly in the oncology area. We use structure-guided design and synthesis methods to discover antagonists of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF4E) as a potential new therapeutic anticancer strategy (in collaboration with Malcolm Walkinshaw, University of Edinburgh; funded by AICR). In an international collaboration (EMBL/DKFZ Heidelberg, Germany) we apply medicinal chemistry in order to optimize the activity and specificity of lead compounds with activity against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer (CRUK-funded). Another project aims to reactivate the tumour suppressor protein p53 in certain solid tumours with drug-like small molecules (in collaboration with Karen Vousden, Beatson Institute, Glasgow). Furthermore, my group work on industry-funded drug discovery projects and I also contribute to a range of CRUK-funded projects led by some of my colleagues, including work aimed at the discovery of inhibitors of polo-like kinases, as new cell cycle agents in cancer (Shudong Wang), new anti-angiogenic agents that target annexins (Lodewijk Dekker), and anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic agents whose design is based on the understanding of the molecular interactions of integrins (Jonas Emsley). Finally, I have initiated exploratory research projects where we apply state-of-the art drug discovery and design methods to new molecular insights relevant to therapeutic areas other than oncology, including e.g. cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and infection and immunity.

To date I have authored in excess of 150 reviews, book chapters, original research papers, and some 70 patents and patent applications. During my career in industry I co-supervised several postgraduate students who worked on academia-industry collaborative projects. I currently guide 5 PhD students.

Membership of Committees & Professional Bodies

• Royal Society of Chemistry (Fellow; FRSC CChem)• Royal Australian Chemical Institute (Chartered Chemist; MRACI CChem) • Swiss Chemical Society (Member) • American Chemical Society (Member) • American Association for Cancer Research (Member) • Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Co-editor) • Medicinal Chemistry (Editorial Board member) • Current Enzyme Inhibition (Editorial Board member) • Current Protein and Peptide Science (Editorial Board member) • Cancer Research UK (Member of Discovery Committee)

Teaching

• Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry 1 & 2.• External examiner for Drug Discovery and Translational Biology MSc course at the Universities of Edinburgh.

School of Pharmacy

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5100
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 5102
email: pharmacy-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk