Book description
In this didactically-written text, the small team of expert authors
presents the field in a comprehensive and accessible manner that is well
suited for students and junior researchers.
The result is a highly readable and systematically structured
introduction to antimicrobial peptides, their structure, biological
function and mode of action. The authors point the way towards a
rational design of this potentially highly effective new class of
clinical antibiotics on the brink of industrial application by
discussing their design principles, target membranes and
structure-activity relationships. The final part of the book describes
recent successes in the application of peptides as anticancer agents.
David Andrew Phoenix studied Biochemistry at Liverpool University where
he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. He remained at Liverpool to
complete his Doctorate on penicillin binding proteins. After
postdoctoral work at Utrecht University (The Netherlands) and Birkbeck
College (London, UK) he became a lecturer, and in 2000 was appointed
Professor of Biochemistry, at the University of Central Lancashire.
Since 2008 he is Deputy Vice Chancellor responsible for areas of
strategic planning and performance across the University group.
Sarah Dennison is a Research Associate in the School of Pharmacy and
Biomedical Sciences. After graduating from University of Wales, Bangor
in Environmental Biology in 1999, Sarah undertook postgraduate research
in biochemistry/biophysics. Sarah has spent the last 7 years
investigating the biological activity of antimicrobial peptides and has
more than 20 publications to her name.
Fred Harris studied biochemistry and microbiology at the University of
Central Lancashire, where he obtained a PhD degree in 1998 working on
the penicillin-binding proteins of Escherichia coli. He then did
post-doctoral research at the University of Utrecht, Holland, and the
Leibniz-Centre for Medicine and Biosciences, Forschungszentrum Borstel,
Germany. In 2000, Fred started as a Research Fellow, and one of the
first staff members, at UCLan's School of Forensic and Investigative Sciences.
