The Business Development Team for the Medical Sciences Division has announced the appointment of a new expert to its Industry Experts in Residence Scheme. Dr Andy Pearce, Director of Discovery Partnerships with Academia at GSK, joined the scheme in October.
In his role Dr Pearce leads drug discovery projects from target validation through hit-finding and to the delivery of high quality clinical candidates, across broad disease areas, in collaboration with world-leading academic partners. He is a biochemist and cell biologist by training, and received his undergraduate degree and DPhil from the University of Oxford before undertaking postdoctoral studies at the University of Birmingham. Dr Pearce is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, and he occasionally lectures at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and participates in career panels and workshops for scientists.
Dr Pearce said: ‘I am really excited to be taking up the position of Expert in Residence in Drug Discovery and Development. I am looking forward to meeting Oxford colleagues, discussing some of their great science, and contributing whatever I can to help advance Translational Research in Oxford towards medicines to benefit patients’.
The Industry Experts in Residence programme is managed by the MSD Business Development Team and Oxford University Innovation. It aims to give Oxford's research community access to world-leading expertise and advice across multiple sectors. Researchers can arrange meetings with industry experts to discuss their ideas and projects, and attend seminars given by these experts on a wide range of topics.
The scheme currently hosts experts in product design in biomedical engineering, drug discovery, and digital health, and the appointment of Dr Pearce has made his expertise in Drug Discovery and Development available to researchers. Dr Pearce will sit in the Target Discovery Institute (TDI), Nuffield Department of Medicine, NDM Research Building on various dates during 2018/19. If you would like to arrange a meeting please contact charlotte.bell@medsci.ox.ac.uk
Maxine Allen, Head of Business Development and Partnering for the Medical Sciences Division, commented: 'The Industry Experts in Residence scheme is a fantastic opportunity for our researchers to develop translational strategies for their projects, and an innovative way to foster interaction between industry and academia.
'Find out more about the scheme and book an appointment with an expert