Benjamin Guy Davis One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 8 August 1970) is Professor of

Chemical biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and ma ...

in the Department of Pharmacology and a member of the Faculty (by courtesy) in the

Department of Chemistry An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level. In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, universi ...

at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

. He holds the role of Science Director for Next Generation Chemistry (2019-2024) at the Rosalind Franklin Institute.

Education

Davis was privately educated at

Nottingham High School , motto_translation = Praise to the end , address = Waverley Mount , city = Nottingham , county = Nottinghamshire , postcode = NG7 4ED , country = England , coordinates = , type = Independent day school , established = , closed = , religious ...

followed by the University of Oxford where he was awarded Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry (with Chemical Pharmacology) in 1993 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1996 supervised by . He was a student of

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

Research and career

After his PhD, Davis spent two years as a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of at the University of Toronto, exploring protein chemistry and biocatalysis. In 1998 he returned to the United Kingdom to take up a

lectureship Lecturer is an academic rank Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals ...

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. In the autumn of 2001 he moved to the

Dyson Perrins Laboratory The Dyson Perrins Laboratory is in the science area of the University of Oxford and was the main centre for research into organic chemistry of the University from its foundation in 1916 until its closure as a research laboratory in 2003. Until 2 ...

in the

and received a fellowship at

. He was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 2005. In 2021 in a new partnership between the Rosalind Franklin Institiute and the University of Oxford he took up a joint position between Medical Sciences in the Department of Pharmacology and the role of Science Director for Next Generation Chemistry; this post lasts until 2024. His group's research centres on the chemical understanding and exploitation of biomolecular function ( Synthetic Biology,

Chemical Biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and ma ...

and Chemical Medicine), with an emphasis on carbohydrates and proteins. In particular, the group's interests encompass synthesis and methodology; target biomolecule synthesis; inhibitor/probe/substrate design;

biocatalysis Biocatalysis refers to the use of living (biological) systems or their parts to speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions. In biocatalytic processes, natural catalysts, such as enzymes, perform chemical transformations on organic compounds. Both enzy ...

; enzyme and biomolecule mechanism; biosynthetic pathway determination;

protein engineering Protein engineering is the process of developing useful or valuable proteins. It is a young discipline, with much research taking place into the understanding of protein folding and recognition for protein design principles. It has been used to imp ...

; drug delivery; molecular biology; structural biology;

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

; glycobiology; molecular imaging and '' in vivo'' biology. Research in the Davis laboratory has been funded by the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...

, the

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific rese ...

, the Medical Research Council, UCB-Celltech, AstraZeneca, the European Union,

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society. He has supervised numerous postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students to completion.

Awards and honours

Davis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2015. His certificate of election reads: In 2017, he was elected a Member of the Academia Europea and in 2019, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was also a recipient of the Mullard Award from the Royal Society in 2005, the

Philip Leverhulme Prize The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize schem ...

in 2002 and the Meldola Medal and Prize in 1999 from the Royal Society of Chemistry. He won the Whistler Award of the International Carbohydrate Organization in 2016. He also received the Davy Medal ("awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of chemistry") from the Royal Society in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Ben G. Living people Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) 1970 births Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Oxford People educated at Nottingham High School Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Academics of Durham University