I obtained my PhD in Medical Microbiology at Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in 1975. I was appointed to the School at the end of 1998 after a career that encompassed academia (Leeds University) and industry (Sandoz Research Institute in Vienna, Bayer Research Centres in Wuppertal and West Haven and the Ciba Geigy/Novartis Centre for Advanced Drug Delivery in Horsham). I was awarded a personal chair in 2005 and am currently Professor of Microbiology at UCL School of Pharmacy.