Thomas Hammond
Tom graduated in 2006 with a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Following a year working in industry at both AstraZeneca and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Tom returned to academia to undertake both his MRes and PhD. Under the guidance of Dr Dominic Williams and Professor Kevin Park at the MRC Centre for Drug Safety at the University of Liverpool and Gerry Kenna of AstraZeneca, Tom spent the majority of his MRes investigating the role of Kupffer cells in drug induced liver injury. Upon progression to his PhD, Tom’s research focus developed into investigating the interactions of acyl glucuronide metabolites of carboxylic acid drugs with protein. This work culminated in the first mass-spectrometric identification of acyl glucuronide metabolites covalently bound to human serum albumin isolated from patients receiving diclofenac therapy. This finding reinforces anxiety over acyl glucuronidation as a metabolic pathway of toxicological consequence. Tom’s other research interests throughout his PhD included pharmacokinetics and the utility of continuous intravenous drug infusion models in pre-clinical toxicology. Following completion of his PhD, Tom won a Postdoctoral Fellowship award from the International Fellowship Programme on Integrative Kidney Physiology and Pathophysiology (IKPP) allowing him to undertake a position under the guidance of Professor Alex Odermatt. In this position Tom’s research focuses primarily include the utility of untargeted mass-spectrometric serum proteome profiling to understand mechanisms responsible for the development of vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease patients, and development of targeted mass-spectrometric methods for the quantification and validation of potential biomarkers of renal injury.
What three things would you take if you were stranded on a desert island?
- A TV
- DVD player
- DVD of Leicester winning the Premier League last session!
If you weren’t a bioanalyst, what would you be?
- I would probably have been a medic
What is your favorite city?
- London
Why have you decided to become a Zone Leader?
This role will allow me exposure to new disciplines which will be important in my future career.