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Andrew Westwell   PhD PGCE HE

Professor Andrew Westwell

(he/him)

PhD PGCE HE

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Media commentator

Teams and roles for Andrew Westwell

Overview

I joined the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences in January 2006. My research interests:

  • Anticancer drug design and discovery (preclinical).
  • Chemical analysis of new psychoactive substances.

In particular, my research focuses on the discovery and pre-clinical development of new anticancer drug candidates targeting advanced and metastatic disease, the cause of death in >90% of cancer patients.

Qualifications

  • PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, University of Leeds (1990-1993)
  • BSc (Hons) Chemistry, University of Leeds (1987-1990)

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Websites

Research

Research interests

Having trained in synthetic organic chemistry, the main focus of my research activities in recent years has been in the area of medicinal chemistry and cancer drug discovery.

I am a medicinal chemist with extensive experience of the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of small molecules for drug discovery and diagnostics. My research interests can be divided into the following categories:

  • Targeted drug discovery in advanced/metastatic colorectal and breast cancer (Bcl-3 inhibition)
  • Targeting cancer stem cells for selective apoptosis induction (c-Flip inhibition)
  • Characterisation of novel psychoactive substances, from a harm reduction perspective

Cancer drug design and discovery

Previously I have been involved in a variety of cancer drug discovery projects, using cell-based screening methods to identify new compounds of interest. One of these discovery projects has resulted in the identification of a new agent that progressed to clinical trial (Phortress). Other recent research activities include:

  • Targeted protein degradation (PROTACs) as a therapeutic approach in cancer therapy
  • Protein-protein interaction targets in cancer
  • Selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells
  • Diagnostic imaging (18F radiochemistry) in cancer using Positron Emission Tomography (PET). 
  • Characterisation of novel psychoactive substances (WEDINOS Project), carried out in conjunction with Public Health Wales and Cardiff & Vale University Health Board (Llandough Hospital).

Collaborators

Cardiff University
  • Prof. Richard Clarkson (School of Biosciences)
  • Prof. Arwyn Jones (School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences)
External
  • Prof. Andrea Brancale (University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague)
  • Dean Acreman, Rick Lines, Joanne Rogers, Mary Busby (WEDINOS project, Public Health Wales and NHS Wales)
  • Prof. Karl Hoffmann (Aberystwyth University, Wales)

Key Expertise

  • Medicinal chemistry and drug design
  • Analytical drug characterisation

Current research funding

  • 2024-6   Cancer Research Wales: Development of new PROTACs (PDRA: Dr. Dusan Ruzic)
  • 2025-8   Myristica Trust: New BCL3 inhibitors (PhD studentship: Tia Elstow)
  • 2012-       Public Health Wales (Welsh Government) / NHS Wales: New Psychoactive Substances Project – Action in Wales. Contribution: drug analysis by NMR spectroscopy.

Teaching

  • PH3115  Optimisation of drug design
  • PH4116  Pharmacy research or scholarship project (module managment team)
  • PH4117  Pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice and the population (module leader)

Biography

Career profile

I graduated with a degree in Chemistry from the University of Leeds in 1990, and then completed a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the same department under the supervision of Professor Chris Rayner. Following a two-year postdoctoral position in the Department of Chemistry at Loughborough University under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Williams then Professor Chris Moody, I was appointed as a Research Fellow within the Cancer Research Laboratories at the University of Nottingham, with Professor Malcolm Stevens. I was appointed to a Cancer Research UK funded Lectureship in 2001 in the School of Pharmacy at Nottingham, and moved to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science in 2006 to take up a position as Senior Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry. I was promoted to Reader in 2013, and Professor in 2016.

Scientific and professional service

I serve as an Independent Board member (University) for the Velindre University NHS Trust (since August 2021).

I chair the management board for the Cardiff Medicentre (https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/medicentre), a joint venture between Cardiff University and Cardiff & Vale University Health Board.

I am past-Treasurer for the British Association for Cancer Research, a charitable organisation of over 1000 cancer professionals, and have been involved in the organisation of a number of cancer research-related conferences.

I am an Honorary Professor at Amity University (Uttar Pradesh, India), within the Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research

Prizes / membership of professional bodies

  • Royal Society of Chemistry Malcolm Campbell memorial prize winner 2003 (with MFG Stevens and TD Bradshaw).

  • Member of the British and European Associations for Cancer Research (BACR & EACR).
  • I serve as a scientific board member for the PAMM (Pharmacology and Molecular Mechanisms) group, a laboratory division of the EORTC.