I am a PhD biochemist currently directing a group of research scientists at Abbvie in Worcester in the invention of novel protein drugs that act locally only in disease tissues. We are working on therapies for neurological disorders, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and cancer. I live in Sherborn with my wife (Lee) and we have two children Angus and Grace.
I was born in the UK just outside London into a musical family but only managed a few years as a player at school (clarinet) with little distinction. After studying Biochemistry at Bristol University, I completed a PhD at Birmingham University before doing a postdoctoral fellowship at The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in London where I met Lee.
We moved to Boston in 1992 where I had a postdoctoral fellowship at the Neurobiology Department at Harvard Medical School before joining Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 1997 where I stayed until joining Abbott/Abbvie in 2003.
While in Birmingham, I often benefited from spare subscription concert tickets from my roommate, regularly attending CBSO concerts conducted by Simon Rattle in the Town Hall. In London, Lee and I formed an attachment to the London Philharmonic through a colleague at work, the most memorable concert being a Mahler 2nd Symphony with Klaus Tennstedt conducting. We were introduced to the BPO through Stephanie Oestreich, a second violin player in the orchestra, who invited us to a free gala concert in 2009. We were hooked (!) and since that time, we have subscribed as a family each BPO season with a deepening appreciation for classical music as learners and listeners.
Other pastimes include sailing, gardening and photography.