Andrew Tobin

Andrew attended Queen Mary College, University of London where he attained a 1st class honours degree in Biochemistry. Following D.Phil studies at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Dr. Neville Osborne at the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology Andrew spent two years at Bristol Myers, Squibb in Princeton, New Jersey working with Mariano Barbacid on oncogene discovery. Returning to the UK in 1991 as a post doctoral fellow at the University of Leicester with Stefan Nahorski allowed Andrew to research mechanisms of regulation of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). He establish an independent group in 1996 with the first of three Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowships (SRF). Primarily focused on the physiological function and modes of drug action at GPCRs, Andrew’s group have investigated key novel paradigms in GPCR biology. In particular, he has generated novel genetic and chemical genetic mouse models as well as employed mouse models of disease to define the action of GPCR targeted drugs in the regulation and modification of human diseases including neurodegeneration.

During this time Andrew became interested in employing the pharmacological principles and the technologies developed in the GPCR work to the question of probing essential pathways in the malaria parasite with the aim of developing novel therapeutics. In this work he has focused on protein phosphorylation and described for the first time the essential protein kinases in the human malarial parasite P. falciparum. His group were among the first to publish the global phospho-proteome of the malarial parasite. He is now developing novel protein kinases inhibitors that selectively target essential parasite kinases with the aim of generating next generation anti-malarial’s.

Now at the University of Glasgow Andrew has established the Centre for Translational Pharmacology aimed at drawing together his interests in GPCRs and protein kinases into a Centre focused on defining the novel paradigms in pharmacology that will allow for the rational design of next generation drugs.