Professor Naomi Chayen is a leading academic in biomedical sciences at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine, heading the Crystallization Group within Computational and Systems Medicine. She holds a Professorship in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, specializing in structural biology and protein crystallization for drug discovery. Her roles include supervising the Centre for Structural Biology and the Chemical Biology CDT program. Chayen is renowned for pioneering crystallization methodologies using smart materials and automation, with a focus on cancer therapy and diabetes research. Research Interests: Her work integrates structural genomics, materials engineering, and medicinal chemistry to advance drug design. Key areas include developing nano-scale crystallization techniques, designing molecular imprinted polymers, and applying smart materials for high-throughput crystal production. Her analytical studies aim to optimize crystallization processes for X-ray crystallography. Awards & Recognition: Chayen has received prestigious accolades including the 2012 Women of Outstanding Achievement award and back-to-back Innovator/Investigator of the Year titles in 2011. Her innovations have led to nine patents and commercial products like the 'Chayen Reddy MIP' and 'Naomi's Nucleant' kits. These tools are widely used in SMEs for protein crystallization research. Grants & Labs: Her lab's work appears in media highlights like Crystallography Times , showcasing breakthroughs in 'nanoscale baking trays' for miniaturized crystallization and 'creating crystals from gold' for nanotechnology applications. She actively engages in interdisciplinary collaborations across Imperial's structural biology, microbiome, and pharmacology networks.








