I was born in Madras (now Chennai) India in 1966 and moved to the UK with my parents in 1967. I grew up in a rural area just outside Runcorn in Cheshire and was educated at Daresbury (primary) and Appleton Hall High School (secondary). I am married to Veena Krishnan, a general practitioner, and we have two children, Sachin (born 2002) and Sashi (born 2004). I did my undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge (1985-88) and then carried out a PhD under the supervision of Professor Chris Abell (1988-1991). I travelled to the USA as a SERC/NATO Research Fellow and worked in the group of Professor Stephen J Benkovic at Pensylvannia State University (1991-1993). I started my independent academic career in 1994 in the University of Cambridge and have remained there ever since. I currently hold a joint appointment between the Clinical School and Department of Chemistry. I direct research laboratories in the Department of Chemistry and the CRUK Cambridge Institute at the Addenbrookes Biomedical Campus.