Dr Francis Mprah Barnieh

Biography

Dr. Francis Mprah Barnieh is a STARTER Research Fellow at the University of Bradford.

Francis graduated with BSc (First Class Hon) in Biochemistry from the University of Ghana and went on to receive MSc (Distinction) in Cancer Pharmacology and PhD in Cancer Drug Discovery from the University of Bradford. His PhD was focused on the development of protease-activated peptide prodrugs of DNA Damage Response (DDR) inhibitors. He previously undertook a post-doctoral fellowship as part of the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics' YCR programme, developing an LC-MS based assay to investigate the CYP-mediated metabolism of novel duocarmycin prodrugs, and additionally a high-throughput microplate ELISA assay for screening of both competitive polysialyltransferase inhibitors, and inhibitors of the NCAM-polyST protein-protein interaction. 

Dr. Barnieh is currently undertaking his independent research, which is focused on understanding the tumour-specific glycosylation patterns of  proteins, and the associated impact on the tumour-specific functions of these proteins. Additionally, he has keen interest in DDR inhibitors with particular emphasis on targeted tumour delivery of these agents.