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Sussex Drug Discovery Centre Announces New Director
By: Trudy Myers
Last updated: Tuesday, 1 August 2023
Dr Erika Mancini (Reader in Biomedical Structural Biology) will be taking on the role of Director of SDDC as of 1st August 2023.
Dr Mancini is a structural biochemist with a long-standing interest in transcription regulation and its misregulation in cancer. With a PhD in crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, Erika brings a wealth of experience in structural biology and its applications to a variety of biomedically-related topics, notably haematopoiesis and blood cancers. Erika collaborates with colleagues in the School of Life Sciences and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School to translate her work towards drug discovery.
Head of the School of life Sciences, Prof Sarah Guthrie said ‘I am immensely grateful to Erika for taking on this challenging role and know that she will bring her tremendous expertise and gifts as a leader to bear on continuing to create a positive and cohesive community of scientists within SDDC. I am sure that the Centre will continue to prosper and expand its portfolio and impact under her leadership. I'd also like to thank all the staff within the Centre for their continued hard work in support of the Centre and the School.
I also wanted to extend warmest thanks to Prof John Spencer for his work as Director until now. John has been invested his boundless energy into building projects within SDDC, as well as in forging new industrial partnerships and he will continue to play an important role in the Centre’.
Prof Spencer added ‘We're delighted to welcome Erika Mancini as the new Director of SDDC. She brings a wealth of structural biology and oncology experience that aligns perfectly with our Centre's goals, and I am confident that she will make a positive impact’.