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Chris Abell

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Chris Abell
FRSFRSCFMedSci
Abell in 2016
Born
Christopher Abell

(1957-11-11)11 November 1957
Died26 October 2020(2020-10-26)(aged 62)
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Cambridge(BA, MA, PhD)
Known forAstex[3]
biosynthesisas targets for therational designofantimicrobials;fragment-based approachestoenzyme inhibition;and biologicalnanotechnology
AwardsHickinbottom Award(1991)
Scientific career
FieldsBiological chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
Brown University
ThesisPolyketide biosynthesis(1982)
Doctoral advisorJames Staunton
Doctoral studentsShankar Balasubramanian[1]
Alessio Ciulli[2]
Websitewww.ch.cam.ac.uk/person/ca26

Christopher AbellFRSFRSCFMedSci[4](11 November 1957[5]– 26 October 2020[6]) was a Britishbiological chemistwho was a professor of biological chemistry at theYusuf Hamied Department of Chemistryand Todd-Hamied Fellow ofChrist's College, Cambridge.[7]On his 2016 election to theRoyal Society,Abell's research was described as having "changed the face of drug discovery."[8]

Education

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Abell was educated atSt John's College, Cambridge,[5]gaining an Bachelor of Arts degree inNatural Sciencesin 1979 followed by PhD[9]on the topic ofpolyketidebiosynthesis for research supervised by James Staunton in 1982.[10]

Career and research

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Abell held a research fellowship in the laboratory ofDavid E. CaneatBrown University,Providence,USA, studyingterpenebiosynthesis (1982–83).[5][10]In 1984, Abell joined the department of chemistry of the University of Cambridge, successively holding the positions of demonstrator, lecturer and reader in chemical biology, and becoming professor in biological chemistry in 2002.[5][10]He held visiting professorships at theAustralian National UniversityinCanberra,University of Santiago de Compostela,University of Canterbury,Christchurch,and thePaul Sabatier University,Toulouse.[5][10][11]He was a fellow ofChrist's College, Cambridge,from 1986;[12]and was the college's Todd-Hamied Fellow.[13]In 2013 he was appointed the first director ofpostdoctoralaffairs at the University of Cambridge,[14]and in 2016 was appointed pro-vice-chancellor for research.

Abell published over 200 papers.[5]His research interests includevitaminandamino acidbiosynthesisas targets for therational designofantimicrobials;fragment-based approachestoenzyme inhibition;bacterial and plantriboswitches;reactions in microdroplets;[15]and biologicalnanotechnology.[16]His former doctoral students includeShankar Balasubramanian.[1]

Commercial ventures

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Abell was the co-founder of several companies. In 1999, he co-foundedAstex Technology Ltd,which uses fragment-based drug discovery technology to discover cancer therapeutics.[5][11]In 2001, he co-founded Akubio, which developedbiosensorsfor detecting bacteria and viruses; it was acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations in 2008.[17]In 2010, he co-foundedSphere Fluidicsto develop microdroplet technology.[18]In 2012 he co-founded Aqdot, a company developing a new microencapsulation technology.[19]

Personal life

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In 1981, he married Katherine Abell, who worked with him at the department of chemistry in Cambridge; they had a son.[6][10][20]He died suddenly on 26 October 2020.[6]

Awards and honours

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His awards include theImperial Chemical Industries(ICI) Prize in Organic Chemistry in 1992,[10]theHickinbottom Awardof theRoyal Society of Chemistry,[21]and a Yamada Science Foundation Award.[5][10]In 2008 he was the MIT Novartis Lecturer, and in 2011 was a BIC International Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.[22]He was elected aFellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences(FMedSci) in 2012[23]and aFellow of the Royal Society(FRS) in 2016.[24]

Selected publications

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  • Ciulli, Alessio; Abell, Chris (2007)."Fragment-based approaches to enzyme inhibition".Current Opinion in Biotechnology.18(6): 489–496.doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2007.09.003.ISSN0958-1669.PMC4441723.PMID17959370.
  • Blundell, Tom L.; Jhoti, Harren; Abell, Chris (2002). "High-throughput crystallography for lead discovery in drug design".Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.1(1): 45–54.CiteSeerX10.1.1.538.3976.doi:10.1038/nrd706.ISSN1474-1784.PMID12119609.S2CID3145020.
  • From Microdroplets to Microfluidics: Selective Emulsion Separation in Microfluidic Devices[15]
  • Huebner, A.; Srisa-Art, M.; Holt, D.; Abell, C.; Hollfelder, F.; deMello, A. J.; Edel, J. B. (2007). "Quantitative detection of protein expression in single cells using droplet microfluidics".Chemical Communications(12): 1218–20.doi:10.1039/b618570c.ISSN1359-7345.PMID17356761.
  • Kerbarh, Olivier; Ciulli, Alessio; Chirgadze, Dimitri Y.; Blundell, Tom L.; Abell, Chris (2007). "Nucleophile Selectivity of Chorismate-Utilizing Enzymes".ChemBioChem.8(6): 622–624.doi:10.1002/cbic.200700019.ISSN1439-4227.PMID17335098.S2CID37100903.
  • Howard, Nigel; Abell, Chris; Blakemore, Wendy; Chessari, Gianni; Congreve, Miles; Howard, Steven; Jhoti, Harren; Murray, Christopher W.; Seavers, Lisa C. A.; van Montfort, Rob L. M. (2006). "Application of Fragment Screening and Fragment Linking to the Discovery of Novel Thrombin Inhibitors†".Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.49(4): 1346–1355.doi:10.1021/jm050850v.ISSN0022-2623.PMID16480269.
  • Bruckbauer, Andreas; Zhou, Dejian; Kang, Dae-Joon; Korchev, Yuri E.; Abell, Chris; Klenerman, David (2004). "An Addressable Antibody Nanoarray Produced on a Nanostructured Surface".Journal of the American Chemical Society.126(21): 6508–6509.doi:10.1021/ja0317426.ISSN0002-7863.PMID15161251.
  • Bulloch, Esther M. M.; Jones, Michelle A.;Parker, Emily J.;Osborne, Andrew P.; Stephens, Elaine; Davies, Gareth M.; Coggins, John R.; Abell, Chris (2004). "Identification of 4-Amino-4-deoxychorismate Synthase as the Molecular Target for the Antimicrobial Action of (6S)-6-Fluoroshikimate".Journal of the American Chemical Society.126(32): 9912–9913.doi:10.1021/ja048312f.ISSN0002-7863.PMID15303852.
  • Webb, Michael E.; Stephens, Elaine;Smith, Alison G.;Abell, Chris (2003). "Rapid screening by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to probe binding specificity at enzyme active sites".Chemical Communications(19): 2416–7.doi:10.1039/b308182f.ISSN1359-7345.PMID14587709.
  • Cooper, Matthew A.; Dultsev, Fedor N.;Minson, Tony;Ostanin, Victor P.; Abell, Chris; Klenerman, David (2001). "Direct and sensitive detection of a human virus by rupture event scanning".Nature Biotechnology.19(9): 833–837.doi:10.1038/nbt0901-833.ISSN1087-0156.PMID11533641.S2CID7307876.
  • Albert, Armando; Dhanaraj, Venugopal; Genschel, Ulrich; Khan, Ghalib; Ramjee, Manoj K.; Pulido, Rosaline; Sibanda, B. Lynn; Delft, Frank von; Witty, Michael;Blundell, Tom L.;Smith, Alison G.;Abell, Chris (1998). "Crystal structure of aspartate decarboxylase at 2.2 Å resolution provides evidence for an ester in protein self–processing".Nature Structural Biology.5(4): 289–293.doi:10.1038/nsb0498-289.ISSN1072-8368.PMID9546220.S2CID7569959.
  • Mahapatro, Mrinal; Gibson, Christopher; Abell, Chris; Rayment, Trevor (2003). "Chiral discrimination of basic and hydrophobic molecules by chemical force spectroscopy".Ultramicroscopy.97(1–4): 297–301.doi:10.1016/S0304-3991(03)00055-X.ISSN0304-3991.PMID12801683.

References

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  1. ^abBalasubramanian, Shankar (1991).Studies on the reaction mechanism of chorismate synthase.lib.cam.ac.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC60112382.EThOSuk.bl.ethos.386780.
  2. ^Ciulli, Alessio (2006).Biophysical studies of protein-ligand interactions.lib.cam.ac.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.EThOSuk.bl.ethos.613799.
  3. ^"Christopher ABELL - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)".beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  4. ^"Fellows (FRSC)".The Times.27 October 2015. p. 57.
  5. ^abcdefghAbell, Prof Christopher. InDebrett's People of Today 2012(accessed 15 January 2012)(subscription required)
  6. ^abcProfessor Chris Abell FRS, FMedSci (1957 - 2020),Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, 27 October 2020,retrieved15 November2020
  7. ^"Scientific Advisory Board".7 April 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2013.
  8. ^50 leading scientists elected as Fellows of Royal Society,29 April 2016,retrieved2 September2016
  9. ^Abell, Christopher (1982).Polyketide biosynthesis.lib.cam.ac.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC59312458.EThOSuk.bl.ethos.350039.
  10. ^abcdefgAbell Group Home Page: Curriculum vitae: Professor Christopher Abell,archived from the original on 25 September 2006,retrieved15 January2013{{citation}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)(accessed 15 January 2013)
  11. ^abAstex Therapeutics: Scientific Advisors and Clinical ConsultantsArchived14 August 2011 at theWayback Machine(accessed 5 January 2009)
  12. ^"Christ's College Magazine 2019".Issuu.Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2021.Retrieved1 January2020.
  13. ^Christ's College, University of Cambridge: The Fellows of Christ's CollegeArchived5 March 2013 at theWayback Machine(accessed 7 January 2013)
  14. ^University of Cambridge: new senior post to support post-doc community(accessed 28 November 2013)
  15. ^abTheberge, Ashleigh B.; Courtois, Fabienne; Schaerli, Yolanda; Fischlechner, Martin; Abell, Chris; Hollfelder, Florian; Huck, Wilhelm T. S. (2010)."Microdroplets in Microfluidics: An Evolving Platform for Discoveries in Chemistry and Biology"(PDF).Angewandte Chemie International Edition.49(34): 5846–5868.doi:10.1002/anie.200906653.ISSN1433-7851.PMID20572214.S2CID18609389.
  16. ^University of Cambridge: Department of Chemistry: Professor Chris Abell(accessed 5 January 2009)
  17. ^Vargas L. Recycled Cambridge biosensor technology attracts millions in investmentBusiness Weekly(27 August 2008)(accessed 5 January 2009)
  18. ^Sphere Fluidics: 2010 NewsArchived18 November 2012 at theWayback Machine(accessed 7 January 2013)
  19. ^Quested, Tony."From farm to fame, Cambridge's 'cereal' life science entrepreneur | Business Weekly | Technology News | Business news | Cambridge and the East of England".www.businessweekly.co.uk.Retrieved1 January2020.
  20. ^The Abell Group: Group Members,Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge,retrieved15 November2020
  21. ^"RSC Hickinbottom Award Previous Winners".www.rsc.org.Retrieved1 January2020.
  22. ^International FellowsArchived4 March 2016 at theWayback Machine,University of Canterbury – Christchurch. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  23. ^The Academy of Medical Sciences: Fellows: Newly elected fellowsArchived27 September 2013 at theWayback Machine(accessed 7 January 2013)
  24. ^"Professor Christopher Abell Biography".Royal Society.Retrieved1 May2016.
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