Benjamin Bax

Dr. Benjamin Bax is a Reader in Structural Biology at Cardiff University's Medicines Discovery Institute, within the School of Biosciences. His research focuses on understanding protein-small molecule interactions to guide drug design, particularly targeting diseases of the central nervous system and bacterial infections. He has extensive experience in structural biology, including over 18 years at GlaxoSmithKline (1998-2016), where he contributed to structural studies for neuroscience and antibacterial projects, including the development of the antibiotic gepotidacin.

Education: PhD in Protein Crystallography from Birkbeck College, University of London, and BSc in Physics & Chemistry from Nottingham University. Key academic roles include co-chairing GSK's structural biology software group and representing the CCP4 consortium.

Research Interests: Structure-guided drug design for CNS diseases, inhibitors of bacterial topoisomerases (e.g., fluoroquinolones, NBTIs), and oligonucleotide-recognizing topoisomerase inhibitors (OTIs). Notable contributions include structural studies of DNA gyrase complexes and mechanisms of antibiotic action.

Key Achievements: Published over 70 peer-reviewed articles, including seminal work on DNA gyrase inhibition mechanisms and drug design. Collaborated on the structural basis of quinolone antibiotics and the development of novel antibacterial agents like gepotidacin (Phase III success).

Labs/Teams: Leads structural biology efforts at the Medicines Discovery Institute, focusing on translational research for therapeutic development. Current projects emphasize precision gene editing via OTIs for neurodegenerative diseases and understanding helicase inhibitors.