Dr Lynne Lennard PhD

I gained my PhD in biochemistry in 1978 and, as a postdoctoral research fellow, became interested in the role of pharmacogenetics on the variability in human drug metabolism. I gained a Lectureship at the University of Sheffield in 1995 becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1999 and subsequently a Reader in Pharmacology.My major research interests centred on the thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) genetic polymorphism and the clinical response to thiopurine anti-cancer drugs; drugs widely used in the chemotherapeutic protocols for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The research aim was to identify patients potentially "resistant" and "sensitive" to thiopurine drugs prior to the start of chemotherapy. Parallel studies investigated whether TPMT controlled variations in active metabolite formation influenced treatment outcome. Knowledge gained from these studies was extended to investigate thiopurine drugs when used as immunosuppressive agents e.g. in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hepatitis and rheumatoid arthritis.