Dr Kepa Burusco-Goni

Dr Kepa Burusco-Goni is a specialist in computational chemistry, molecular simulation methods and drug discovery areas. He graduated in Chemistry in 2001 (University of Navarra) and then moved to Barcelona to obtain his Diploma in Advanced Studies in 2003, and his PhD in computational chemistry in 2009 (Autonomous University of Barcelona) studying conformations of biomolecular systems (cyclodextrins) and small organic compounds. During the Summers of 2004 and 2005, he was visiting researcher at the Jonathan Goodman Group (University of Cambridge) learning genetic algorithms techniques applied to conformational exploration of drug-like molecules. KB returned to Navarra in 2010 holding an Honorary Research Associate position at the Chemistry Department of the Public University of Navarra, where he also obtained his Masters in Material Sciences and Engineering in 2012, exploring hybrid organic/inorganic compounds (ORMOSIL) to design new optic fibre sensors. Upon receiving a prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship in 2012, he joined the Richard Bryce Group at the University of Manchester to develop the SwarmBioCAD project, to enhance Free Energy Perturbation calculations using non-Boltzmann ensemble techniques. Since then, and before joining the MDC in 2017, he has been working in different drug discovery, cheminformatics and molecular modelling projects with other groups in Manchester (Oligonucleotide conjugates, Integrins), Salford (Anti-Malaria drugs) and collaborating with other pharmaceutical companies in the area (benzodiazepine-based drug design).