Keith Willison

Professor Keith Willison is a Professor of Chemical Biology at the Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. He has held academic positions including Weston Visiting Professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Scientist/Team Leader at the Institute of Cancer Research. His research focuses on eukaryotic protein folding, single molecule approaches to protein dynamics, and interdisciplinary chemical biology. He co-founded the Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology and the Institute of Chemical Biology, training over 250 PhD students in Chemical Biology. His work integrates physics, mathematics, and engineering to address biological problems such as cancer drug discovery and artificial cell design.

Education:

• PhD in Biochemistry, University of Cambridge (1975–1978)
• BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry, University of Sussex (1972–1975)

Research Interests: His lab explores protein dynamics, single molecule proteomics, and clinical applications of microfluidic technologies like the MAC chip. Key areas include quantifying protein copy numbers in single cells, studying molecular noise in signaling networks, and developing label-free detection methods for clinical diagnostics.

Articles Overview: Recent work spans copper homeostasis in neurodegeneration, COPD biomarker detection via microfluidics, and malaria parasite proteome analysis. His contributions highlight advancements in single-cell and single-molecule methodologies.

Awards & Grants: Funding from EPSRC, Cancer Research UK, and the British Heart Foundation supports his research. He leads interdisciplinary teams and oversees training programs in Chemical Biology.

Labs & Teams: Active in the Institute of Chemical Biology and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, focusing on translational research and technology development for clinical applications.