Who We Are

The Sheffield Institute for Translational Research (SITraN) at the University of Sheffield has access to a wide variety of patient derived in vitro and in vivo models of both PD and MND which can be accessed on a fee for service basis.

Prior to the formation of Keapstone Therapeutics, work laying the foundation for the project was carried out by the European Lead Factory with funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and pharma partners.

Richard Mead is a Senior Lecturer (associate professor) at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience. He has extensive experience in preclinical drug discovery in academia and industry with a track record of taking compounds through preclinical programs to nomination for clinical development. He has previously identified an electrophilic Nrf2 activator which obtained orphan designation with the EMA for MND. He is a named inventor on 38 patents in 5 families, has authored 20 scientific publications and raised funding of £9M as primary investigator and founder.

Tom Bartlett is Business Manager within the Sheffield Healthcare Gateway where he manages Industrial collaborations.  He was previously at the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Vancouver where he was part of the team that identifies and evaluates new technologies across a broad range of therapeutic areas including neurology, psychiatry, anti-infectives and oncology. Thomas has a BSc in biochemistry and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Bristol. While completing his academic training, Thomas also worked for a year in the Pain Biology group at Pfizer Global R&D.

Alan Naylor is a medicinal chemist with over 30 years experience in Research and Development within GlaxoSmithKline. He previously held the position of Vice President and Director of Medicinal Chemistry within the GSK Drug Discovery organization and has lead strategic, matrix and line functions involving significant international responsibilities. He has an extensive track record of success, across a wide range of therapeutic areas, having played a major role in the discovery of over 30 development compounds, and is a co-inventor of Serevent, a major advance in the treatment of asthma.

As an independent consultant, Alan provides scientific and strategic advice and analysis to major pharma, biotechnology companies, academic groups, capital investment companies and funding bodies.

Jan Kulagowski is Drug Discovery Manager at Parkinson’s UK, With over 30 years experience in drug discovery research as a medicinal chemist, Jan has worked in neuroscience with Merck Sharp and Dohme and, more recently, in a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology, inflammation and respiratory disease with the integrated drug discovery services provider Argenta Discovery (now Discovery at Charles River). He obtained his B.Sc and Ph.D from Imperial College, held a NATO postdoctoral position at Stanford University and is author or inventor on over 150 scientific publications and patents.

Ross McMaster is financial consultant at Sheffield University Enterprises Ltd (Suel). A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants with a BA [Hons] in Accounting and Business, Ross specialises in the provision of management accounting services, strategic and business planning, financial forecasting and statutory accounts preparation for SMEs.

During his time at Suel, Ross has been involved in a variety of fundraising transactions for private limited companies. He also provides corporate governance guidance whilst holding the position of company secretary to a number of companies spun out from the University of Sheffield.

Pamela Shaw is the Vice President and Head of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sheffield and Director of the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN). She is also Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Translational Neuroscience for Chronic Neurological Disorders. Professor Shaw is a clinician scientist and world leading expert on mechanisms and treatment of motor neuron disease. She has published over 425 papers and has an H Index of 88.

Arthur Roach is Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK. Before joining Parkinson’s UK Arthur held several academic and industrial positions, most recently as Senior Director, Neurodegenerative Diseases Research at Merck Serono. He is also a founder and Head of the SAB of the Swiss-based biotech Chord Therapeutics.