Michael R.K. Alley

Dr. M.R.K. (Dickon) Alley has over 30 years of experience in microbiology from academia and industry. Dr. Alley led Discovery Biology at Anacor Pharmaceuticals for 15 years, starting from the company’s inception. At Anacor, he and his team elucidated the novel OBORT Leucyl-tRNA synthetase mechanism of action for Kerydin®, an FDA-approved treatment for onychomycosis. This led to the discovery of two novel phase 2 antibacterials currently in development. He also led several early phase antibacterial drug discovery programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Dr. Alley has co-authored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals, including seminal publications in the journal Science. He earned his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Warwick after completing his BSc ARCS in Biochemistry from Imperial College London. He then completed Post-doctoral Fellowships at Columbia University and Stanford University in the lab of Dr. Lucy Shapiro before he was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship