Dr Raphäel Rodriguez, a former group member, has been awarded the 2023 ICBS Global Lectureship Award. The Society state that, "The ICBS Global Lectureship award was created to recognize distinguished investigators whose research has significantly advanced and impacted the field of chemical biology. Selection of the awardee is based on their impact on chemical biology research, service to the field, and demonstrated leadership in continuing the advancement of chemical biology around the globe. The award lecture will be delivered at this year’s ICBS conference in Ann Arbor Michigan in October and the awardee will serve as an ambassador of ICBS to promote chemical biology globally".
Raphäel joined the Balasubramanian group as a postdoc in 2005 having completed a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Professors Maurice Santelli (Marseille) and Sir Jack Baldwin (Oxford). At that time he expressed a strong desire to develop and apply his chemistry to questions in biology. During the first 2-3 years in the group he worked on the design and synthesis of a number of small molecule scaffolds that interact with G-quadruplex nucleic acids. He went beyond the synthesis and evaluated the kinetics and thermodynamics of small molecule-nucleic acid interactions by surface plasmon resonance, a technique for he quickly became an expert. He was promoted to Senior Research Associate in 2009 before leaving Cambridge in 2012 to start his own academic career first as a group leader at CNRS before establishing himself at the Institut Curie in Paris. He is currently a Research Director at the CNRS and a Senior Principal Investigator at Institut Curie where he holds the Marie Curie Chair of Chemical Biology.
Raphäel is a visionary scientist who has distinguished himself with pioneering contributions to chemical biology and its application to clinical problems. He selects important research questions and approaches them with a depth and intensity that reveals penetrating insights. He works across disciplines and takes on bold and challenging research questions. These are qualities that mark outstanding scientists. His fundamental work has revealed new mechanisms and opportunities that have potential to transform the treatment of infectious diseases and other clinically important areas.
We congratulate Raphaël on this well deserved award. If you wish to know more about Raphaël's research, see here.
