We are delighted to welcome Dr Mehul Jesani to our London office as a valued addition to our expert team of chemistry and contamination investigators. Mehul brings to Hawkins an impressive academic background, graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Natural Sciences. His early academic career included characterising magnesium–rare earth alloys using synchrotron radiation in Germany, studying polymers in paint using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and undertaking a 6-month total synthesis project (synthesising natural products from basic, commercially available materials).
Following his studies, Mehul joined the R&D Graduate Programme at AstraZeneca, building a broad understanding of pharmaceutical research. He rotated across different departments working towards discovering new therapies for cancer, ranging from synthetic and medicinal chemistry, biophysics, and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.
Continuing his development, Mehul completed his PHD at the University of Bristol as part of the Technology Enhanced Chemical Synthesis Programme. His doctoral research focused on developing novel methods applicable to the preparation of pharmaceuticals and crop protection agents. Following this, he worked as a synthetic and medicinal chemist where his prior research experience earned him a secondment to a biology department where he performed a large fragment screening campaign (a technique used in new drug discovery) for a key client.
Mehul is an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Registered Scientist, and is also a published author in both academic and industrial research.
It is a pleasure to have Mehul on board.
