Having completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry (MChem) at University of Oxford, Akane obtained her D.Phil in Pharmacology under the supervision of Prof. Edith Sim. She then spent three years in biotech sector, where she led multiple early discovery projects across a wide number of therapeutic areas. In 2009 she returned to University of Oxford to work with Prof. Chris Schofield FRS on developing chemical probes for epigenetic targets. She was awarded a BHF CRE Senior Fellowship (2012), a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (2013) and an ERC Starting grant in 2016. She was appointed as University Research Lecturer in 2016 and in 2019 an Associate Professor. In October 2019, she joined Newcastle University as a Chair and Professor of Chemical Biology. She is currently a visiting Professor at University of Oxford.
In 2023, Akane received the RSC Chemistry Biology Interface mid-career Prize: Jeremy Knowles Award, for the development and application of cutting-edge technologies and chemical probes to study and modulate therapeutically important biological processes.
Research in her group centres on the chemistry of epigenetics, in particular of methylation on DNA and histones which are fundamental to understanding how cells function and respond in development and in disease. Using chemical biology and biochemical approaches, her group studies enzymes and proteins that regulate methylation states to understand their biochemical and biological functions and to explore their potential as therapeutic targets.
| Employment | |
|
10/2019 – current
10/2021 – current |
Chair and Professor of Chemical Biology, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University Visiting Professor – Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford |
|
01/2021-09/2021 01/2019-12/2020 |
Professor of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford (part-time) Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford |
| 04/2016-12/2018 | University Research Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford |
| 01/2013-06/2018 | Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, Department of Chemistry & Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford |
| 07/2012-12/2015 | British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Senior Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Chemistry & Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford |
| 08/2009-06/2012 | Senior Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford (Prof. Christopher J Schofield FRS) |
| 11/2006-08/2009 | Senior Scientist, Summit PLC, Oxford |
| 09/2005-10/2006 | Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford (Prof. Edith Sim) |
| Education | |
| 2005 | D.Phil Pharmacology (supervisor Prof. Edith Sim), Linacre College, University of Oxford |
| 2000 | M.Chem, University College, University of Oxford |
Current Major Grants
European Research Council Consolidator Grant (2021-2026)
Cancer Research UK Programme Grant (joint lead – with Prof. Chris Schofield) (2014-2024)
Other activities
Oxford-GSK-Crick Chemical Biology Centre for Doctoral Training (University of Oxford), director (2018-2022)
Wellcome PhD Programme Chemistry in Cells (University of Oxford), co-director (2019-2022)
RSC Chemical Biology & Bio-Organic Chemistry (CBBG) Interest Group Committee member (2018-)
RSC Chemistry & Biology Interface Community (CBIC) council member (2020 – )
Chemical Probes Portal Scientific Advisory Board (2020 -)
Communications Chemistry Editorial Board member (2018-2020)
EPSRC Peer Review College member (2013-)
Management committee of COST member (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action CM1406 Epigenetic Chemical Biology (EPICHEM) (2015-2019)