David Andrew Phoenix

David Andrew Phoenix OBE FAcSS DSc was born in 1966 in Greater Manchester, England. After attending Turton High school, in Bolton he progressed to study Biochemistry at Liverpool University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. He remained at Liverpool to complete his Doctorate on penicillin binding proteins and after postdoctoral work in England and the Netherlands he began work at the University of Central Lancashire where attained the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor before being appointed as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of London South Bank University.^[1]

Academic background

Phoenix read biochemistry and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Liverpool. This was followed by completion of a Doctorate, again in biochemistry. He continued to study part time and went on to obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Open University which focused on mathematics. Further study generated a Masters in Education and later a Masters in Business Administration. His contribution to the field of biochemistry was rewarded by the presentation of the degree of Doctor of Science from Liverpool University. This higher doctorate recognised his work into the importance of amphiphilicity in the localisation and function of bioactive molecules.

He has published widely on the structure-function relationship of amphiphilic biomolecules,^[2] obtaining a Chair in Biochemistry in 2000. He has held Visiting Chairs in Russia, China and Canada. In addition to peer reviewed papers, edited collections and research monographs he has also been recognised for publication of undergraduate textbooks. He continues to sit on editorial boards and editorial advisory boards for approximately ten international scientific journals and has also been Editor in Chief of The Journal of Biological Education and of periodicals such as Biologist which are aimed at a broader readership.

Research

The group is multidisciplinary and draws on a range of specialisms including, biology, chemistry, physics and computational modelling to help develop understanding of the structure function relationships used by amphiphilic bioactive molecules.^[3] The term ‘‘peptide-amphiphile’’ can be used to describe amphiphilic peptides consisting only of amino acids that show segregation of charged and uncharged components within the primary or secondary structure. Alternatively they may be composed of hydrophilic peptides linked to hydrophobic alkyl chains or lipids, and peptide based copolymers. Such molecules are of significant biological importance due to the range of asymmetric boundaries that occur in nature such as those found at a membrane lipid interface. Amphiphilic protein sequences can be involved in protein targeting, membrane protein assembly as well as membrane fusion and lysis. In addition to amphiphilic peptides possessing key biological functions amphiphiles are becoming of increasing interest in the creation of new biomaterials. Amphiphiles can self-assemble into a variety of different structures such as micelles, vesicles, monolayers, bilayers, nanofibers, nanotapes, ribbons, and twisted ribbons, to minimise unfavorable interactions with their surroundings. A key aspect of his work involves the development of bioactive peptides and new biomaterials with biomedical application.

Significant Awards

2009 Awarded a D.Sc. by Liverpool University for his work in the field of Biochemistry

2010 Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.^[4] for services to science and higher education

2012 Conferred the title of Academician by the Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of his work on science and education policy

2013 Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Bolton (DUniv) for his contribution to higher education, management and scholarship in the North West.^[5]

2013 Elected as a non-medic to Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for achieving considerable distinction in medical research & education

Professional recognition

He was granted Chartered Chemist status by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK and later made a Fellow of the Society (FRSC). In addition he was recognised as a Chartered Biologist and became a Fellow of the Institute of Biology, (FIBiol). He also became recognised as a Chartered Mathematician and later advanced to Fellowship of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. In 2007 he was recognised as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. In 2008 his work in support of teaching was recognised by the award of a Senior Fellowship^[6] by the Higher Education Academy.

Career history

His PhD work engaged his interest in the role amphipilicity plays in driving the interaction of bioactive molecules with cell membranes. He was awarded a Long Term fellowship by the European Molecular Biology Organisation which enabled him to investigate the importance of amphiphilicty in protein translocation at Utrecht University Centre for Biomembranes and Lipid Enzymology. He continued to work on amphiphilic helices, being one of the first to help characterise their role as membrane protein anchors. He later expanded this work to investigate the importance of structure-function relationships in the design of antimicrobial peptides and in 2000 was awarded a Chair in Biochemistry at the University of Central Lancashire. From 1996–1999 he was a Visiting Professor in Bioinformatics at Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) where he began developing his interest in algorithms for identification of low homology repeat sequences.

In 2000 he launched a new Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at the University of Central Lancashire and in 2002 he became Dean of Science and launched a new School of Pharmacy. At this time he began developing links overseas with the aim of expanding higher education opportunity, especially in India and was invited to become a member of the D Y Patil Academic Council supporting a range of educational institutes. During this time he also remained the UK representative on the European Committee of Biological Associations (ECBA) and for a while was a Commissioner for Biotechnology. He remains an international advisor on higher education and science to the University of Guyana.

In 2008 he became Deputy Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for strategic planning and performance across the University of Central Lancashire group. In 2010 he created UCLan Biomedical Technology Ltd, a research institute based in Shenzhen, China, which focuses on areas of nanoscience and nanoengineering.^[7] As the inaugural Chair he oversaw the development of research collaborations with key Chinese universities such as Fudan University and Sichuan University. His work was recognised by the latter via the award of a Professorship. In 2012 he became Chair of UCLan Cyprus Ltd and provided the academic lead on the de novo creation of a private university in Larnaca, obtaining a license to operate from the Ministry of Education with approval to initially run courses in business, languages, law, computing and mathematics.^[8]

In 2013 he was selected to replace Martin Earwicker upon his retierment as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of London South Bank University.^[9]

Public service

He was appointed to an advisory committee for the appointment of Justice of the Peace by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a service which at the time came under the auspices of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. His work has tended to remain focused around the public understanding of science and education more broadly defined. He was appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as a Trustee for the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.^[10] He has been a Trustee and Chair of the Education Committee for Darwen Aldridge Community Academy and for a brief time was a Governor at Kirkham Grammar School. In 2009 he was appointed as an Ambassador to the Government Equalities Office to support work focused on increasing diversity in public life.

References

External links

• University of Central Lancashire website
• D Y Patil website
• Higher Education Academy website
• UCLan Cyprus website
• Institute of Nanotechnology and Nanoengineering