Our Team

A highly experienced Senior Scientist who has contributed significantly to several publications including those published in Cell, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Lancet. Experience at Synexa Life Sciences and Imperial College London.

Andy Baxter has extensive experience in drug development across academia and industry, with expertise spanning translational pharmacology, clinical trial design, and regulatory strategy. He provides strategic guidance on development pathways, helping bridge early-stage science with clinical and commercial goals.

Julie Warneck is a specialist in non-clinical development, with deep expertise in toxicology, pharmacology, and IND/CTA-enabling studies. She advises on preclinical strategy, regulatory submissions, and the integration of laboratory findings into development programs.

Darren Dixon is Professor of Chemistry at Oxford and a leading figure in synthetic methodology. As CSO and Founder of Cortex Organics, he pioneers novel synthetic routes to complex molecules. His work bridges academic discovery with commercial application in drug development.

Yao Shi is a chemist and entrepreneur, serving as CEO and Founder of Cortex Organics. With a PhD in synthetic chemistry, he has developed innovative strategies for scalable synthesis of complex molecules. Yao leads Cortex in supporting pharma and biotech partners with bespoke chemistry solutions.

Paul Brennan is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Oxford and Director of the Centre for Medicines Discovery. His research focuses on chemical biology and drug discovery, particularly developing small molecules to probe disease pathways. He has extensive experience translating academic discovery into therapeutic innovation.

Sir John Burn is Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. A global authority in hereditary cancer syndromes, he has pioneered research and clinical practice in genomics, cancer prevention, and precision medicine.

Karen Brown is Professor of Translational Cancer Research at the University of Leicester and Co-Founder of COLO-PREVENT. Her work focuses on chemoprevention and biomarker-driven clinical trials, advancing strategies to prevent colorectal and other cancers.

Mark Hull is Professor of Molecular Gastroenterology at the University of Leeds and Co-Founder of COLO-PREVENT. His research emphasizes colorectal cancer prevention, inflammation-associated carcinogenesis, and translational clinical trials designed to test preventive interventions.