Biog

Geoff Holdgate originally joined the Protein Function team of ICI Pharmaceuticals as part of his undergraduate studies in 1990. This work involved mechanistic studies on the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, leading to the discovery of a potent inhibitor related to Iressa (trademark of AstraZeneca). Following graduation in biological and biochemical sciences from the University of Salford in 1992, he rejoined ICI as a permanent member of the Protein Function Team. ICI Pharmaceuticals subsequently became Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, which merged with Astra to form AstraZeneca. During the last 20 years he has applied the techniques associated with mechanistic enzymology and biophysics to the study of structure-function relationships on numerous drug targets and associated ligands, including several successful drug discovery projects, such as Iressa, Crestor and Caprelsa (trademarks of AstraZeneca). He currently holds the position of Principal Scientist in Biophysics within the Discovery Sciences Department at AstraZeneca, Alderley Park. His work interests include a range of biophysical techniques (ITC, DSC, SPR), as well as mechanistic enzymology approaches to characterise the mechanism, kinetics and thermodynamics of protein-ligand interactions for exploitation in drug design.

Geoff Holdgate