In more recent years | focussed on the structure and protein engineering of antibodies and growth factors through crystallography and protein engineering. | have employed structure-based engi-
neering throughout and developed a novel genetic strategy for protein engineering that mimicks the natural process of mutation and selection. This strategy, now referred as directed molecular evolution, can complement structure-based engineering and has been successsfully employed to build the binding affinity of antibodies and the catalytic activity of enzymes.
Highlights of my research have been published over the years in Nature, the Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences (USA) and Cell. My research has also led to several worldwide patents held by the UK Medical Research Council in DNA chemistry and mutagenesis and protein engineering.