Ali Tavassoli

Ali Tavassoli is a Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Southampton's School of Chemistry and serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Curve Therapeutics, a VC-backed spin-out from his lab. He leads an interdisciplinary team focused on developing chemical tools to elucidate protein-protein interactions and advance therapeutic discovery. His research bridges synthetic chemistry and biology, with applications in cancer and metabolic disease. Tavassoli holds RSC Fellow status and has led roles in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemical Biology divisions.

Education & Career:

• BSc Chemistry, University of Bristol
• PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, University of Reading
• Postdoctoral Fellowships: University of Sussex and Penn State University
• Joined University of Southampton as Lecturer in 2006, promoted to Reader (2011) and Professor (2015)

Research Interests: Chemical biology approaches to target protein interactions, hypoxia signaling in cancer, cyclic peptide therapeutics, and synthetic organic chemistry. His work combines molecular design with biological validation to address unmet clinical needs.

Key Projects:

• MRC-funded studies on hypoxia-driven drug discovery
• EPSRC project on semi-biotic immune systems
• Cancer Research UK grants for HIF pathway inhibitors

Awards:

• European Young Chemist Medal (2008)
• RSC Protein & Peptide Science Award (2017)
• European Peptide Society's Leonidas Zervas Award (2020)

Professional Activities: Editorial board member for RSC Chemical Biology, former Chair of RSC Chemical Biology divisions, and inventor of SICLOPPS screening technology. His lab actively collaborates with industry and academia to translate discoveries into therapies.