Martin Philpott

Dr Philpott leads a molecular biology team with a focus on sequencing-based methods, particularly the development of new methods in single-cell sequencing, to answer complex biological questions in fields as diverse as bone biology, myeloma, uterine fibroids and PCOS.

Martin was educated at the University of Auckland, gaining his PhD in 2001 at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, working on the preclinical development of the anticancer agent Vadimezan.  After working within the Nutrigenomics New Zealand consortium, he moved to the Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, in 2009 to develop potent and selective small molecule inhibitors of proteins involved in epigenetic processes. He joined the group of Prof. Oppermann at the Botnar Research Centre in 2014 and since 2017 has been the Director of the Botnar Research Centre sequencing facility.

Martin is the Oxford lead in the Systems Biology of Uterine Fibroids project, part of the Oxford/Bayer Alliance for Women’s Health.  This project aims to combine the clinical expertise of the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health with cutting-edge genomic and proteomic tools, to identify pathomechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for uterine fibroids, which affect up to 80% of women and currently lack effective non-surgical treatments.