Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian is the Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and senior group leader at CRUK’s Cambridge Institute.
He co-invented the leading next generation DNA sequencing methodology, Solexa sequencing (now Illumina). He invented chemistry to sequence several modified (epigenetic) DNA bases and DNA secondary structures (G-quadruplexes) in the genome advancing the understanding of their dynamics and function and revealing molecular mechanisms that can be exploited to modulate the biology of cancer.
Sir Shankar was knighted (2017); awarded the Royal Medal (2018), the Millennium Technology Prize (2020) and Novo Nordisk Award (2024) jointly with Sir David Klenerman; and the Breakthrough (2022) and Gairdner (2024) prizes in Life Sciences with Sir David and Pascal Mayer. He was recently awarded the ·¬ºÅ¿âapp’s 2025 Khorana Prize.
Dr Hannah Bolt, AstraZeneca, United Kingdom
Dr Hannah Bolt is Head of Peptide Discovery at AstraZeneca. Hannah is an emerging leader in the peptide pharmaceutical field, with >10 years’ experience in peptide drug discovery. She has contributed to the delivery of several peptide candidates moving through clinical phases of development and is responsible for delivery of a pre-clinical peptide portfolio of therapeutics and targeting ligands. Hannah has published numerous scientific articles, patents and delivered invited lectures. Hannah obtained her PhD in Chemistry from Durham University, focussed on development of peptoids for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases. She is a committee member for the ·¬ºÅ¿âapp Chemical Biology and Bioorganic interest group, a member of the Peptide Drug Hunting Consortium entrepreneurial advisory board and a passionate STEM ambassador, mentoring the next generation of peptide scientists.
Kelly Chibale, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Kelly Chibale is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cape Town where he holds the Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development. He is also the Founder & Director of the UCT Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D).
Kelly obtained his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. This was followed by postdoctoral stints at the University of Liverpool and Scripps Research Institute.
Kelly’s research interests are in infectious disease drug discovery and the development of tools and models to contribute to improving treatment outcomes in people of African descent.
Pietro Sormanni, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Pietro Sormanni is a Royal Society University Research Fellow leading a group at Imperial College London (previously at the University of Cambridge) and the recipient of the 2025 Norman Heatley Award from the ·¬ºÅ¿âapp. His research lies at the interface of computational method development and experiments. The group’s main goal is to create computational antibody-design technologies that transform antibody discovery and engineering. Their work, also through industrial and academic partnerships, already shows these methods can streamline antibody development and deliver faster, cheaper alternatives to traditional routes. Previously, Pietro was a Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellow at Cambridge. He holds a PhD in Chemistry and an MSc in Theoretical Physics.
Zoë Waller, UCL School of Pharmacy, United Kingdom
Prof. ZoÑ‘ Waller CChem F·¬ºÅ¿âapp graduated with an MChem in Chemistry with Pharmaceutical and Forensic Science from the University of Bradford in 2005, and then completed a PhD in Chemical Biology from the University of Cambridge, UK, under the supervision of Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian. After completing her PhD, she taught in the secondary and higher education sectors and also worked in industry. ZoÑ‘ started her first academic position in late 2010 as a Junior Lecturer in Chemical Biology at the UEA School of Pharmacy. She was promoted to Lecturer in 2014 and Senior Lecturer in 2017. ZoÑ‘ moved to UCL School of Pharmacy in July 2020 as an Associate Professor in drug discovery. She was promoted to Professor in 2024 and is currently Head of the Research Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry.
ZoÑ‘’s individual and team work has been recognised throughout her career, including a ·¬ºÅ¿âapp Horizon Education Prize (2024), the Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group Lectureship (2024) and the Jeremy Knowles Award (2025). ZoÑ‘ is a Fellow of the ·¬ºÅ¿âapp, the chair of the ·¬ºÅ¿âapp Degree Accreditation Committee and a STEM ambassador.
ZoÑ‘’s research interests are centred around the structure and function of i-motif nucleic acids, and their research is currently supported by the BBSRC and the Leverhulme Trust. Outside of work, ZoÑ‘ enjoys baking, crochet and running around after her three children.
