Robert E. W. Hancock

Robert E. W. Hancock
Hancock in 2016
Born (1949-03-23) March 23, 1949
Merton, England
Residence Vancouver
Nationality Canadian
Occupation Professor
Awards Officer of the Order of Canada, ICAAC Antimicrobial Research Award, Prix Galien, Order of British Columbia
Academic background
Alma mater University of Adelaide
Academic work
Discipline Microbiology and Immunology
Institutions University of British Columbia
Notable ideas Self-promoted uptake theory, Cationic peptides as immune modulators
Website Hancock Lab Website

Robert E. W. Hancock OC OBC FRSC (born March 23, 1949) is a Canadian microbiologist and University of British Columbia, (UBC) Killam Professor of Microbiology and Immunology , an Associate Faculty Member of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and a Canada Research Chair in Health and Genomics.

Hancock is “considered a world leader in his field”[1][2] and is most known for his work on cationic host defence (antimicrobial) peptides[3][4][5] and finding alternate treatments[6] to antibiotic resistance.

At an early age Hancock recognized that he wanted to produce something “useful” and decided he was going to become a scientist, his dream was further reinforced years later when he read an article on the discovery of penicillin and he was struck by the powers of observation that led to this discovery.[7]

He received his PhD in microbiology in 1975 from the University of Adelaide where he studied bacteriophage receptors for his PhD thesis and then went on to study the E. coli outer membrane at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Following his studies in Germany, Hancock spent a year at the University of California, Berkeley where he began his work on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and porins proteins that form channels in membranes. Three years after completing his PhD, he began his career at the University of British Columbia, starting as an Assistant Professor. While at UBC he came up with the self-promoted uptake theory,[8] the idea that antibiotics promote their own uptake across the cell membrane. This discovery shaped much of the work done in the Hancock Lab today.

He became interested in studying antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and this eventually morphed into his involvement in sequencing the genome of Pseudomonas, only the 4th bacterial genome to be sequenced,[9] identifying new mechanisms of antibiotic resistance especially dependent on lifestyle adaptations in Pseudomonas,[10] and then finding new therapeutics for treating antibiotic resistant pathogens.[11][12] His research morphed into investigating small cationic peptides from nature, originally termed cationic antimicrobial peptides,[13] but eventually "host defence peptides" and as his research progressed he became one of the first and most prominent advocates that the major function of these peptides was as modulators of the immune system.[14][15] To understand the role of these peptides as modulators of the immune system he developed InnateDB and NetworkAnalyst as tools to enable systems/network biology studies and insights.[16]

Currently Hancock and his lab’s research interests include small cationic peptides as novel antimicrobials, broad-spectrum anti-biofilm agents, and modulators of innate immunity, the development of novel treatments for antibiotic resistant infections and inflammation, the systems biology of innate immunity, inflammatory diseases and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and antibiotic uptake and resistance.

Over his career he has published more than 700 papers and reviews, has 64 patents awarded, and is an ISI highly cited author in Microbiology with more than 82,000 citations and an h-index of 150. He has won several awards and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is a co-founder of Migenix, Inimex Pharmaceuticals, ABT Innovations, Sepset Biotherapeutics, and the Centre for Drug Research and Development.

Education

Hancock received his B.S.c. (First Class Honors) (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) in Microbiology from the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. He did his post-doctoral work at the University of Tubingen in Germany (1975-1977), followed by a research year at the University of California, Berkley where he studied bacteriophage receptors.

UBC Lab

Hancock’s lab is located at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. With over 10,000 square feet and more than 30 members the lab is well-equipped, technologically diverse and well-funded. The fundamental interest of the Hancock laboratory is in designing new therapeutic strategies to treat infections in the light of increasing antibiotic resistance coupled with a dearth of new antibiotic discovery.

Canadian Anti-infective Innovation Network (CAIN)

Hancock and Dr. Gerry Wright formed the Canadian Anti-infective Innovation Network (CAIN) in 2017. CAIN was formed with the purpose of leveraging innovative approaches and expertise to solve the expanding health crisis caused by Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) infections. In less than a year CAIN has grown to over 90 members from across Canada.

Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research (CMDR)

Hancock is the director of the Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research (CMDR) a multi-faculty, multi-department consortium of world class microbial diseases and immunology researchers located at the University of British Columbia.

Awards and honours

Editorships

In addition to reviewing roughly 80 manuscripts, grants and reviews per year for a variety of journals and foundations, Robert Hancock holds the following editorships.

Ventures

Hancock co-founded the following companies:

References

  1. ↑ Hrvatin, Vanessa (June 6, 2017). "Blood ties: The inspiration behind a potential sepsis breakthrough". Maclean's. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Larkin, M (2003). "Robert E W Hancock – boosting innate immunity to combat infection". Lancet Infectious Diseases. 3: 736–739. PMID 14592606. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. ↑ Hilpert K, Volkmer-Engert R, Walter T, Hancock REW (August 2005). "High-throughput generation of small antibacterial peptides with improved activity". Nature Biotechnology. 23 (8): 1008–12. doi:10.1038/nbt1113. PMID 16041366. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Hancock REW, Sahl HG (Dec 2006). "Antimicrobial and host-defense peptides as new anti-infective therapeutic strategies". Nature Biotechnology. 24 (12): 1551–7. doi:10.1038/nbt1267. PMID 17160061. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Scott, Monisha G ; Edie Dullaghan, Neeloffer Mookherjee, Natalie Glavas, Matthew Waldbrook, Annick Thompson, Aikun Wang, Ken Lee, Silvana Doria, Pam Hamill, Jie Jessie Yu, Yuexin Li, Oreola Donini, M Marta Guarna, B Brett Finlay, John R North & Robert E W Hancock (25 March 2007). "An anti-infective peptide that selectively modulates the innate immune response". Nature Biotechnology. 25 (4): 465–72. doi:10.1038/nbt1288. PMID 17384586. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Lloyd Czaplewski, Richard Bax, Martha Clokie, Mike Dawson, Heather Fairhead, Vincent A Fischetti, Simon Foster, Brendan F Gilmore, Robert E W Hancock, David Harper, Ian R Henderson, Kai Hilpert, Brian V Jones, Aras Kadioglu, David Knowles, Sigríður Ólafsdóttir, David Payne, Steve Projan, Sunil Shaunak, Jared Silverman, Christopher M Thomas, Trevor J Trust, Peter Warn, John H Rex, (2016 Feb). "Alternatives to antibiotics-a pipeline portfolio review". Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2: 239–51. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1. PMID 26795692. Retrieved 18 July 2018. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ Larkin, Marilynn (November 2003). "Robert E W Hancock–boosting innate immunity to combat infection". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 3 (11): 736. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(03)00799-0. Retrieved 19 July 2018. More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  8. ↑ Hancock, R.E.W. (2001). "Cationic peptides: effectors in innate immunity and novel antimicrobials". Lancet Infectious Diseases. 1: 156–164. PMID 11871492. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Stover, K.C., X.Q. Pham, A.L. Erwin, S.D. Mizoguchi, P. Warrener, M.J. Hickey, F.S.L. Brinkman, W. O. Hufnagle, D.J. Kowalik, M. Lagrou, R.L. Garber, L. Goltry, E. Tolentino, S. Westbrock-Wadman, Y. Yuan, L.L. Brody, S.N. Coulter, K.R. Folger, A. Kas, R. Lim, K. Smith, D. Spencer, G.K.-S. Wong, Z. Wu, I. Paulsen, J. Reizer, M.H. Saier, R.E.W. Hancock, S. Lory, and M.V. Olson. (2000). "Complete genome sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: an opportunistic pathogen". Nature. 406: 956–964. doi:10.1038/35023079. PMID 10984043. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  10. ↑ Fjell, C.D., J. A. Hiss, R.E.W. Hancock and G. Schneider (2012). "Designing antimicrobial peptides: Form follows function". Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 11: 37–51. PMID 22173434. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Hilpert, K., R.Volkmer-Engert, T. Walter, and R.E.W. Hancock. (2005). "High-throughput generation of small antibacterial peptides with improved activity". Nature Biotechnology. 23: 1008–1012. doi:10.1038/nbt1113. PMID 16041366. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  12. ↑ Scott, M.G., E. Dullaghan, N. Mookherjee, N. Glavas, M. Waldbrook, A. Thompson, A. Wang, K. Lee, S. Doria, P. Hamill, J. Yu, Y. Li, O. Donini, M.M. Guarna, B.B. Finlay, J.R. North, and R.E.W. Hancock. (2007). "An anti-infective peptide that selectively modulates the innate immune response". Nature Biotechnology. 25: 465–472. doi:10.1038/nbt1288. PMID 17384586. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Fjell, C.D., J. A. Hiss, R.E.W. Hancock and G. Schneider. (2012). "Designing antimicrobial peptides: Form follows function". Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 11: 37–51. doi:10.1038/nrd3591. PMID 22173434. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Scott, M.G., E. Dullaghan, N. Mookherjee, N. Glavas, M. Waldbrook, A. Thompson, A. Wang, K. Lee, S. Doria, P. Hamill, J. Yu, Y. Li, O. Donini, M.M. Guarna, B.B. Finlay, J.R. North, and R.E.W. Hancock. (2007). "An anti-infective peptide that selectively modulates the innate immune response". Nature Biotechnology. 25: 465–472. doi:10.1038/nbt1288. PMID 17384586. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Hancock, R.E.W., E.F. Haney and E.E. Gill. (2016). "The immunology of host defence peptides: Beyond antimicrobial activity". Nat Rev Immunol. 16: 321–334. doi:10.1038/nri.2016.29. PMID 27087664. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Yeung, A.T.Y., C. Hale, A.H. Lee, E. E. Gill, W. Bushell, D. Parry-Smith, D. Goulding, D. Pickard, T. Roumeliotis, J. Choudhary, N. Thomson, W.C. Skarnes, G. Dougan and R.E.W. Hancock. (2017). "Exploiting induced pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages to unravel key host factors influencing Chlamydia trachomatis pathogenesis". Nature Communications. 8: 15013. doi:10.1038/ncomms15013. PMID 28440293.
  17. ↑ "NEWEST UNIVERSITY KILLAM PROFESSORS ANNOUNCED". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Prix Galien Canada 2012 Research". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "Find a Recipient". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "CAHS Fellows". Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "KILLAM AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN MENTORING" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "2009 Recipient". Order of British Columbia. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "Inimex Co-Founder Bob Hancock Receives 2006 Michael Smith Prize". T-Net. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Past Award Winners". Royal Society of Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "Antimicrobial Research Award (Formerly Cubist-ICAAC Award)". American Society for Microbiology. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Find a Recipient". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  27. ↑ "Canada Research Chairs". Government of Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  28. ↑ "Fellows". Royal Society of Canada. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  29. ↑ "Inimex Raises US $22 Million in the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance". Newswire. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  30. ↑ Lindsay, Bethany (September 27, 2016). "UBC professor working on new tool to fight painful, dangerous infections". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
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