June 10th was a special moment for former Lister Fellow and current member of our Scientific Advisory Committee, Professor Barry V L Potter, when the University of Bath formally awarded him an honorary degree in Bath Abbey.
Barry’s Doctor of Science honoris causa stems from his internationally recognised research in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. His work focuses on signal transduction, anticancer drug discovery and translational and molecular medicine.
With over 500 published research papers and 21,000 citations, Barry is placed in the top 0.5% of medicinal chemists worldwide. He is also a co-inventor on 46 patent families from over 700 worldwide filings, exemplifying the translational potential of his work.
“It’s truly a huge privilege to have received such an honour that reflects particularly the outstanding work of numerous graduate students and postdoctoral colleagues in my group over the years.”
Professor Barry Potter
He continues: “I have also had the benefit of working with many inspirational national and international collaborators. I pay tribute to them too, all of whom rightly share in this honour.”
In his oration, Professor Stephen Ward said: “As well as a notable record in the published literature he has also pioneered examples of “first-in-class” drug discovery, including both new target identification and the design of agents that have entered clinical trials in multiple pathologies. These have demonstrated clinical benefit, particularly in oncology and endocrinology. As an entrepreneur he has also translated these to the pharmaceutical industry.”
Barry is currently Emeritus Professor of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry at the University of Oxford. He is also a Member of Academia Europaea and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Amongst a number of both academic and industrial prizes, he has been awarded four Royal Society of Chemistry medals for interdisciplinary research and the GlaxoSmithKline International Achievement Award. During his career, he has mentored more than 80 post-doctoral researchers and over 40 graduate students.
It is an absolute pleasure to work with Barry through his role on the Lister’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and everyone here sends their congratulations on this new honour in a highly distinguished career.
