Dr Angela Russell

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

Professor Russell's work focuses on the discovery of new drug targets and mechanisms, and the translation of these findings into new clinical candidates. Through several successful multidisciplinary research collaborations, their team works in a range of therapeutic areas including identifying small molecules to upregulate utrophin for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), new anti-cancer agents, and agents to stimulate endogenous cell populations for regenerative medicine.

Angela has co-founded two spin-out companies to date, MuOx Ltd (acquired by Summit plc in November 2013), for the development of new small molecule utrophin modulators for DMD therapy, and OxStem Ltd, a company to translate their research findings in small molecule manipulation of stem cells for regenerative medicine. Most recently, OxStem Ltd raised a record £16.9M to identify new classes of drugs that can re-programme or stimulate existing endogenous cells to repair tissues in age-related conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and heart failure.

In addition to her active teaching commitments within the Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry and at St John’s College, Angela is a member of and contributes to the Oxford Stem Cell Institute (OSCI), the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence (BHF CRE), and the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre – supporting at all levels including research and training.