UK-based chemical research and development company, High Force Research, has welcomed University of Durham Postgraduate, David Chisholm, to its Wilton Centre team.
Chisolm, who recently completed his Biological Chemistry PhD at Durham University, has spent the last four years studying synthetic retinoids and their potential uses for treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
His postgraduate research, undertaken with supervisor Andrew Whiting from Durham University’s School of Chemistry, was sponsored by High Force Research.
From his new base at High Force Research’s Wilton Centre laboratory in Teesside, David will continue his post-doctoral research which is being co-funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and High Force Research.
It is part of a new two year project, funded by the BBRSC and led by a team of scientists at the University of Aberdeen in conjunction with Durham University and High Force Research.
The project involves researching asynthetic version of retinoic acid usually created from vitamin A, a vitamin most commonly found in a number of vegetables, including carrots and sprouts. It is hoped thid may be used to treat neurological disorders.
In the body, vitamin A is turned intoretinoic acid, which then interacts with specific receptors in the brain and plays a role in the development of the human central nervous system.
Scientists from the University of Aberdeen, Durham University and High Force Research have collaborated to design a synthetic version of retinoic acid that interacts with the body's natural receptors in the brain in an even more powerful way than regular retinoic acid.
Expansion
The company recently doubled the size of its 1,018sqft laboratory at Redcar’s Wilton Centre after its existing Bowburn laboratory and office space became full to capacity.
Founded nearly three decades ago, High Force Research is one of the UK’s longest established chemical research companies. The company develops and scales up complex syntheses of molecules used by researchers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics and chemical sectors.
