Frank Mercurio
Frank Mercurio has over 25 years of research experience studying the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and inflammation. Frank was Senior Director of Discovery Biology at Celgene where he initiated and successfully managed numerous Target and Drug Discovery programs. Among his key discoveries, Frank’s team elucidated the mechanistic process regulating activation of the NF-kB signaling pathway, which plays a critical role in the onset and progression of many types of cancer and inflammation. This program resulted in the identification of several novel therapeutic targets within the NF-kB pathway, creating several internal and partnered drug discovery programs. Frank also pioneered the development of an internal E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Program to identify small molecule modulators of protein degradation, an emerging area of drug development with enormous therapeutic potential. Another major focus of Frank's work was to develop technologies that enable the elucidation of drug mechanism of action. While at Celgene, he implemented these technologies to advance the understanding of Thalidomide and Lenalidomide mechanism of action.
Fleur Ferguson
Dr. Ferguson received her M.Sc in Chemistry from Imperial College London, and her Ph.D in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. She performed her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Professor Nathanael Gray at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is currently and Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at U.C. San Diego.
Dhanusha Nalawansha
Derek Bartlett
David Rubinsztein
Daniel Scott
Christopher Kirk
Behnam Nabet
Andrew Benowitz
Carlotta Cecchini
Carlotta Cecchini received her Master’s degree in 2017 in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Bologna Bologna (Italy), where she was awarded a scholarship for two consecutive years (2015/2016) for her excellent grades. In 2018, she joined the group of Prof. Leonardo Scapozza (Biochemistry/Chemistry group) at the University of Geneva to start a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry. Her research topic mainly focuses on the design and synthesis PROTACs as oncogenic agents. Through her thesis work, Carlotta gained experience in the field of Targeted Protein Degradation, and in particular, in PROTAC rational design. She plans to obtain her Ph.D. degree by the end of 2022.