Prof John Spencer will discuss p53, the "Guardian of the Genome," a previously considered undruggable protein that is now enjoying a flurry of clinical activity with numerous drugs undergoing trials. p53 is frequently mutated in cancer, losing its ability to initiate programmed cell death (apoptosis)  in cancerous cells. 

"However, we have found ways to overcome one mechanism of deactivation by designing ‘molecular doorstops’ to stop the proteins from ‘slamming shut and breaking down’....."

Prof Spencer, a Sussex graduate, came back after spending 10 years in the biotech industry as a medicinal chemist and is now Director of Medicinal Chemistry in the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre.

“We will show the molecular basis of these studies and how our work is shaping the development of new drugs."