Adrian Whitty joins faculty as Associate Professor in biochemistry
Prof. Whitty received his undergraduate degree (B.Sc., Hon.) in Chemistry at King’s College, University of London in 1985, and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1991 working with Professor Paul Young. Following postdoctoral research with Professor William P. Jencks at Brandeis University in the field of Enzymology, Adrian joined Biogen Inc. (now Biogen Idec) in Cambridge, MA as staff scientist, where over 14 years he rose to the position of Director in the Drug Discovery Department and Head of Physical Biochemistry. In these roles he led a large group of research scientists employing structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics and computational approaches to investigate the mechanisms of action of potential drug targets and drug candidates, including both ‘biopharmaceutical’ (i.e. protein) and ‘small molecule’ (i.e. synthetic organic) drug discovery projects. Adrian additionally led or co-led project teams aimed at discovering drugs against specific drug targets. In his time at Biogen Idec Adrian was a highly productive research scientist with an excellent record of scientific publications. At the same time he engaged in impressive and focused mentoring of post-doctoral scholars. For several years he served as Director of the Biogen Idec Postdoctoral Program, and was cited by Science as one of the top postdoctoral mentors in the country (“Success factors for Postdocs,” September 17, 2004).
Adrian is a recognized authority in understanding receptor-ligand interactions and activation mechanisms of cytokine and growth factor receptors, and also in the discovery of drugs that disrupt protein-protein interfaces. In the first of these areas he has worked to characterize how multi-component receptors that sit in the membranes of mammalian cells allow the cell to sense and respond to external signals in the form of secreted protein messengers such as cytokines and growth factors. The goal of this research is to understand, in quantitative detail, how the functional properties of these receptors derive from the molecular properties and interactions of their component parts. In the second major area of his research, Adrian has led intensive efforts to discover small organic inhibitors against a number of protein-protein interaction targets, and to elucidate the structural, chemical and biophysical principles that pertain to this cutting edge area of drug discovery research. He will continue this research at Boston University; specifically the elucidation of biochemical mechanisms associated with intra- and intercellular signaling, and the development and application of biochemical and biophysical tools to better understand the interactions of proteins with small molecules and with other proteins. We believe that Adrian brings a unique perspective that will foster new connections between the Department of Chemistry, the College of Engineering, and the Medical campus of Boston University.
April 2008