Dr Alex White
MPharm Programme Director and Senior Lecturer
- whiteaw@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 6308
- 1.81, Redwood Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB
Overview
Co-inventor of rucaparib (Rubraca ®), a PARP inhibitor licenced in the USA (2016) and UK/EU (2018) for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer and peritoneal cancer. Currently developing methodology for the large scale extraction of bio-active natural products from bulk plant material. Particularly of interest is the development of natural product lead compounds as clinically useful chemotherapeutic agents.
Biography
Career profile
Graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and awarded a PhD in anti-cancer drug design from the same University. Held a faculty research position at the Arizona State University Cancer Research Institute under Professor Bob Pettit studying the anti-cancer constituents of marine organisms. Returned to the UK as a research associate at the Northern Institute of Cancer Research before joining the staff of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Publications
2019
- Owen, L., White, A. W. and Laird, K. 2019. Characterisation and screening of antimicrobial essential oil components against clinically important antibiotic-resistant bacteria using thin layer chromatography-direct bioautography hyphenated with GC-MS, LC-MS and NMR. Phytochemical Analysis 30(2), pp. 121-131. (10.1002/pca.2797)
2013
- Lau, W. M., Heard, C. M. and White, A. W. 2013. Design, synthesis and in vitro degradation of a novel co-drug for the treatment of psoriasis. Pharmaceutics 5(2), pp. 232-245. (10.3390/pharmaceutics5020232)
2012
- White, A. W., Carpenter, N., Lottin, J. R. P., McClelland, R. and Nicholson, R. 2012. Synthesis and evaluation of novel anti-proliferative pyrroloazepinone and indoloazepinone oximes derived from the marine natural product hymenialdisine. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 56, pp. 246-253. (10.1016/j.ejmech.2012.08.022)
2011
- Lau, W. M., Ng, K. W., White, A. W. and Heard, C. M. 2011. Therapeutic and cytotoxic effects of the novel antipsoriasis codrug, naproxyl-dithranol, on HaCaT cells. Molecular Pharmaceutics 8(6), pp. 2398-2407. (10.1021/mp200327k)
2010
- Lau, W. M., White, A. W., Donaldson, M. and Heard, C. M. 2010. Histochemical visualisation of esterase activity in porcine ear skin. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 62(6), pp. 798-798. (10.1211/jpp.62.06.0016)
- Lau, W. M., White, A. W. and Heard, C. M. 2010. Topical delivery of a naproxen-dithranol co-drug: in vitro skin penetration, permeation, and staining. Pharmaceutical Research 27(12), pp. 2734-2742. (10.1007/s11095-010-0274-8)
2008
- Lau, W. M., White, A. W., Gallagher, S. J., Donaldson, M., McNaughton, G. and Heard, C. M. 2008. Scope and limitations of the co-drug approach to topical drug delivery. Current Pharmaceutical Design 14(8), pp. 794-802.
- White, A. W., Westwell, A. and Brahemi, G. 2008. Protein-protein interactions as targets for small-molecule therapeutics in cancer. Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine 10(e8), pp. 1-14. (10.1017/S1462399408000641)
2004
- White, A. W. et al. 2004. Potentiation of cytotoxic drug activity in human tumour cell lines, by amine-substituted 2-arylbenzimidazole-4-carboxamide PARP-1 inhibitors. Biorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 14(10), pp. 2433-2437. (10.1016/j.bmcl.2004.03.017)
2002
- Perdomo-Lopez, I., Rodriguez-Perez, A. I., Yzquierdo-Peiro, J., White, A. W., Estrada, E. G., Villa, T. G. and Torres-Labandeira, J. J. 2002. Effect of cyclodextrins on the solubility and antimycotic activity of sertaconazole: Experimental and computational studies. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 91(11), pp. 2408-2415. (10.1002/jps.10237)
2000
- White, A. W. et al. 2000. Resistance-modifying agents. 9. Synthesis and biological properties of benzimidazole inhibitors of the DNA repair enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 43(22), pp. 4084-4097. (10.1021/jm000950v)
Teaching
Convenor of undergraduate examinations
- PH1121 Molecule to patient
- PH1122 The role of the pharmacist in professional practice
- PH1123 Structure and function of cells and microbes
- PH1124 Human body systems
- PH1125 Chemical and biological properties of drug molecules
- PH2110 Clinical & professional pharmacy
- PH2112 Principles of drug design
- PH2113 Diseases and drugs I
- PH3101 Optimisation of drug design
- PH3110 Optimisation of pharmaceutical care
- PH3202 Research methodology
- PH4116 Pharmacy research or scholarship project
- PH4117 Pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice and the population
- PH4118 Pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice and the patient
Natural Product Research and the design and synthesis of novel anti-cancer agents, especially using lead compounds from natural sources. We have been investigating natural products from Welsh marine organisms and have identified anti-cancer and anti-bacterial activity in extracts from Welsh sponges. Currently involved in isolation and characterisation of discrete biologically active molecules from large scale plant sources.
