About the Medicines Research Group

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The Medicines Research Group REF2014 outputs embrace translational medicine themes underpinning Global Health across the biomedical disciplines concerning the quality, safety and mechanisms of action for prescription and over the counter (OTC) medicines. The Group's multidisciplinary expertise spans drug discovery and development, chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, microbiology and biopharmaceuticals. Faculty generate consulting and research income and lead partnerships with institutions across London, the UK, USA, Latin America, Pan-Africa and China, coupled with regular invitations to present research at international scientific conferences in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

• The focus is primarily on elucidation of mechanisms underpinning pharmacological and toxicological response at cellular and acellular levels.
• Investigate drug discovery potential for natural products related to public health promotion and disease prevention as well as disease treatment in emerging economies (of impact in children) and developed economies (of impact in the elderly).
• Quality Assessment of optimal product formulations for clinically relevant therapeutic indications.

Key researchers include Drs Corcoran (wound-healing and lung cancer); Rahman (antimicrobial natural products); Ayoub (inflammation, pain and thermoregulation); Casalotti (molecular neuroscience); Morgan (toxicology of natural products and synthetic drugs); Pendry (cancer and mental health); Sanchez-Medina (pharmacology and phytochemistry of natural products); Seed (preclinical models of inflammation and immunity). Thompsett (neurodegenerative disease), Torres (phytochemistry of Mexican flora); Watkins (antimicrobial formulations from native British flora) and Webb (diet and nutrition).

International recognition supports Corcoran’s industrial development of innovative tools for dissecting medicinal formulations. Since inclusion as an ECR in RAE2008 her team have evolved a powerful chemometric model for correlating chemistry with pharmacological activity for complex biopharmaceuticals of global import. This is typified in acclaimed work on wound-healing and smoking-related lung cancer of natural products with significant economic potential in low income economies. This translational approach to drug discovery underpins several international research consortia.

Rahman’s research characterises anti-infective lead compounds from natural products including medicinal plants and microbial cultures. He has widely published on the chemical synthesis of bioactive compounds based on natural product analogues in collaboration with world-leading London universities. His work specifically enhances our understanding of the evidence-base for anti-infective secondary metabolites in emerging economies of impact, in particular, to high infant mortality rates.

Ayoub has investigated the role of the novel cyclooxgenase variant enzyme (COX-3) during inflammation, pain and thermoregulation. Other notable contributions include an investigation on the mechanism of anti-nociceptive action of annexin-A1; profiling the synthesis of prostaglandins in CNS tissues of mice in a chronic-relapsing model of multiple sclerosis; elucidation of the mechanism of pro-angiogenic action of mesenchymal stem cells. This research will expand the knowledge of mechanisms that underpin the structure-activity relationships of drug action in inflammatory disease of particular impact in ageing populations of developed economies.

Casalotti’s main research interest is in molecular neuroscience, specifically the biochemical and pharmacological characterization of the neurotransmitter receptors GABAa, NMDA and Peripheral Benzodiazepine Receptor. He has published effects of stress and drugs of addiction on gene expression in the brain, most recently refining the Drosophila model to investigate molecular mechanisms of alcohol addiction.

Morgan’s diverse research interests include toxicology of natural products and synthetic drugs, mechanistic toxicology, kidney and liver toxicity; bile acids and cancer; MDMA and other amphetamine-related drugs; gut microflora, probiotics and prebiotics; Ethnobotanical agents in wound healing.

Pendry is a Herbal Medicine Practitioner with a PhD in Phytotherapy involving the investigation of antioxidant activity in selected medicinal plants traditionally used in treating chronic age-related diseases. Her research interest in cancer and mental health patients has evolved from her previous work as a practitioner with Barnet Cancer Care and as a Mental Health Act Manager for a North London Mental Health Trust.She is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Herbal Medicine and serves on the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee for the UK Government Agency MHRA and the Council Member of the European Herbal Traditional Practitioners Association.

Sanchez-Medina’s research concerns quality, phytochemistry and pharmacological activity of natural products.

Seed’s research has focused the refinement of preclinical modelling of inflammation, immunity and arthritis; COX isoforms in tumour growth and angiogenesis; the role of the non-canonical NFkB pathway in adaptive immunity; PGJ2 and the resolution of acute immune arthritis; topical drug delivery.

Thompsett’s research has focused on unravelling the molecular mechanisms involved in protein misfolding in neurodegenerative disease processes. These span CJD and Alzheimer’s disease.

Torres (pharmacological activity of Mexican flora)

Watkins is a Herbal Medicine Practitioner and graduate student. The focus of her PhD thesis is antimicrobial herbal formulations from native British plants used for wound-healing as specified in ancient medical texts of 10th century Anglo-Saxon England.

Webb is an internationally renowned author (Dietary supplements and functional foods. Blackwell 2012 2nd Edn; Nutrition: a health promotion approach, 3rd Edn Arnold 2008 as well as 3 other books, published in many languages. His earlier laboratory work focused on obesity in preclinical models and recent research contributions relate to diet, lifestyle and health.

 

Ethnomedicine and drug discovery

Dietary supplements and functional foods

 

The Group hosts the Journal of Herbal Medicine, published by Elsevier, Germany.

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