Peak Proteins Welcomes Roz Brant
Peak Proteins welcomes Roz Brant as Cell Culture Specialist. Roz has over 20 years of industrial experience supporting pharmaceutical research from early drug discovery to clinical development. Her expertise includes a wide range of biological studies, from assay development and high-throughput screening to disease linkage and patient selection biomarker studies.
Starting Academic Life as a Biochemist
Roz graduated from Staffordshire University with a BSC in Biochemistry and Microbiology and had a brief time at the Muller Factory as a lab technician, quality control testing yoghurt before finding her true calling in cell biology in the pharmaceutical industry.
Industrial Experience
Roz joined the Oncology Bioscience Group of AstraZeneca in 2002. Her role was to support drug discovery projects through developing and applying biochemical, cell biological and tissue biomarker analysis with the aim to identify and quantify the on and off-target effects of novel drug molecules in model biological systems. There she performed a variety of cell-based assays/techniques including screening key compounds on HEK transiently transfected cell lines of EGFR mutant models.
Moving to the Translational Science Group in 2014, Roz developed and validated biomarker assays, utilising technologies that interrogate RNA, DNA or proteins to enable quantification and evaluation of predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers in both preclinical and clinical studies.
Roz then joined the High Throughput Screening Group where she led projects and delivered high quality primary and secondary screening data for novel drug targets using cellular and biochemical assay systems. There she optimised assays to large scale and onto automation systems before profiling AstraZeneca’s compound collection to identify active compounds.
COVID-19
When the pandemic struck in March 2020, Roz joined the Medicine Development Catapult Lighthouse Laboratory, one of 7 such laboratories set up by the UK Government to test for the COVID 19 virus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Joining as a Laboratory Scientist, Roz quickly became a Laboratory Operations Lead with the management responsibility of over 100 people.
Roz was seconded from AstraZeneca to the Lighthouse lab for about a year before returning to the High Throughput Screening Group.
Joining Peak Proteins
Roz commented, “There were multiple reasons for me wanting to work at Peak Proteins. Joining a smaller biotech where you worked more closely with customers and understood the bigger picture, hopefully having a greater, clearer impact was important. Reclaiming a better work-life balance after the pandemic was also important. Peak Proteins’ culture allows that without compromising on the hard work and dedication needed to complete very exciting drug discovery projects. Being reunited with both Margaret Veldman-Jones and Catherine Geh, who worked with me at AstraZeneca for many years, was a bonus!”.
Mark Elvin, Cell Culture Principal Scientist added, “We are delighted to welcome Roz to the team of cell culture scientists. Her expertise and experience will be a great asset to the Peak Proteins”.
Life Outside Work
Outside Roz loves playing any racquet sport, including table and court tennis and plays club badminton for Club AZ. Always a keen sportswoman, Roz used to enjoy football but sadly suffered a knee injury and had to hang up her boots. She also enjoys cycling but only when the weather is good. Passionate about wildlife and nature, Roz spends her holidays exploring both and has been on safari to Tasmania, Botswana and has holidayed in Peru, Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, and Scotland. “You don’t have to travel halfway around the world to see spectacular wildlife and scenery.” added Roz, “You’ll often find me foraging for fungi in forests!”. If COVID restrictions allow Roz next trip will be to The Galapagos Islands.
