Harren Jhoti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harren Jhoti
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| Born | 1962 (age 62–63) |
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| Known for | Astex Pharmaceuticals |
| Awards | UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) Lifetime Achievement Award (2018) European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery (2012) Royal Society of Chemistry Entrepreneur of the Year (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Drug discovery Structural biology |
| Institutions | Astex GlaxoWellcome |
| Thesis | X-ray structural studies on transferrins (1989) |
Harren Jhoti is a British scientist who was born in India in 1962. He is a structural biologist, which means he studies the shapes of tiny molecules to understand how they work. His main goal has been to find and design new medicines. He is the leader, or chief executive officer (CEO), of a company called Astex Pharmaceuticals. This company is located in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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Harren Jhoti's Career in Science
Harren Jhoti helped start Astex in 1999 with Tom Blundell and Chris Abell. He was a leader in developing a new way to find medicines called fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD). This method helps scientists find small molecules that could become useful new drugs. It is now used by many companies and universities.
Leading Astex Pharmaceuticals
Jhoti was the chief scientific officer at Astex until 2007. After that, he became the CEO, leading the whole company. In 2013, a Japanese company called Otsuka Pharmaceutical bought Astex. Astex still works as its own company, but it is now part of Otsuka.
Before Astex
Before starting Astex in 1999, Jhoti worked at a company called GlaxoWellcome (now GSK). There, he led the team that studied the shapes of molecules and how to use computer information in biology. Before that, he was a scientist at the University of Oxford.
Harren Jhoti's Education
Jhoti studied biochemistry at the University of London, earning his first degree in 1985. He then earned his PhD in protein crystallography from the same university in 1989. This type of science uses X-rays to figure out the exact shapes of proteins.
Awards and Recognition
Harren Jhoti's important scientific work has been recognized by many groups. These include the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Key Awards and Honours
He received a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 from the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA). In 2012, he won an award for new technologies in finding medicines from the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry. He was also named the Royal Society of Chemistry's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
Featured in Publications
Jhoti's work has been written about in famous science magazines like Nature and Science. He was also featured in Time magazine in 2005. This happened after the World Economic Forum named Astex a "Technology Pioneer."
Royal Honour
In 2023, Harren Jhoti was given a special honour called Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He received this award for his important work in cancer research and finding new medicines.
