Angela J. Russell

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology

Bernard Taylor Fellow and Tutor in Organic Chemistry St John's College

University of Oxford

Angela Russell is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. She gained her MChem degree from the University of Oxford in 2000 and her DPhil in Organic Chemistry in 2004 under the joint supervision of Professor Steve Davies and Dr Tim Perera from Yamanouchi plc (now Astellas Pharma Inc.). In July 2007 she was awarded a prestigious Research Councils’ UK Fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry jointly between the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology in Oxford. In 2012 she was appointed as University Lecturer, in 2014 an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, and in 2018 conferred as Professor of Medicinal Chemistry.

Her work lies at the interface of Chemistry, Biology and Medicine and aims to discover new small molecules and mechanisms to manipulate cell fate and translate them into therapeutic agents, particularly for degenerative diseases. Her work has led to three spin out companies (MuOx in 2013, now part of Summit Therapeutics, OxStem in 2016, and Kodiform Therapeutics in 2024) and two clinical trials (for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and COVID19). In 2016 she was named as a ‘Rising Star’ in the ‘UK BioBeat 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness 2016’ report. Released annually, the report celebrates 50 outstanding women entrepreneurs and business leaders who are recognised for their contributions to global health innovation. In 2020 she received a Harrington Rare Diseases scholarship award in recognition of her pioneering work to develop a therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and in 2024 received the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Jeremy Knowles Award for outstanding work at the Chemistry-Life Sciences interface.