Independent Member - University

Professor Andrew Westwell qualified in chemistry at the University of Leeds, where he obtained his PhD in chemical synthesis in 1994. Following postdoctoral research at Loughborough University, he became a senior research fellow in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, undertaking research in preclinical cancer drug discovery leading to the identification of a new clinical candidate drug.

In 2006, Andrew moved to a Senior Lecturer position within the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University, becoming Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in 2016. He has continued his work on the discovery of new anticancer drug candidates targeting advanced and resistant disease. Andrew’s recent collaborative work has led to a new advanced drug candidate against a novel cancer drug target known as Bcl3, and work continues to progress this project into first patient trials targeting resistant and metastatic colorectal and breast cancer. Other related research projects aim to develop new cancer diagnostic imaging molecules.

Andrew’s other roles have included being Treasurer for the British Association of Cancer Research (2004-2010), and most recently Dean of Research & Innovation for the College of Biomedical and Life Sciences at Cardiff University (2018-2021). He also currently serves on the scientific committee of Prostate Cancer UK, and chairs the Programme Board for the WEDINOS new psychoactives project on behalf of Public Health Wales. During his academic career, he has been the author/co-author of >150 publications in international scientific journals.