Epigenetic Mechanisms in Health and Disease

Tom Heightman Ph.D.

PI Chemical Biology & Epigenetics Project Manager
Structural Genomics Consortium
Oxford University

Tom Heightman is head of Chemical Biology at the Structural Genomics Consortium in Oxford University, and project manager for SGC Oxford's International Epigenetics Chemical Probes consortium.

Tom studied Chemistry at Oxford, then gained his PhD in Organic Chemistry and Enzymology at the ETH in Zurich under the supervision of Professor Andrea Vasella. In 1998 he joined GlaxoSmithKline in Harlow, UK, where he worked for ten years as a medicinal chemist. In 2001 he became section head for GPCR systems chemistry. His group generated over 30 leads across a number of therapeutic areas: from these leads over a dozen drug candidates were generated, including a motilin receptor agonist in Phase I for functional dyspepsia, a histamine H3 receptor antagonist in Phase II for dementia, and oral and intranasal dual H1/H3 receptor antagonists both in Phase II for allergic rhinitis. In 2006 he became head of Lead Discovery for the Neurology CEDD, and led GSK's S1P1 receptor agonist project for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. He serves on the committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector, and is a co-author on over 50 publications and patents.