Jesús Cortés

Biography

 A native of Mexico, Dr. Cortés holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology by the University of León, Spain, moving then to the UK, where he spent 23 years in various positions. During his stay in Cambridge University as Senior Research Associate in the group of Prof. Peter Leadlay, Jesús identified and characterised for the first time modular polyketide synthase encoding genes (published in Nature) and established methodologies for efficient genetic manipulation of this type of enzymes (published in Science) allowing the production of novel hybrid polyketide compounds. The work carried out in this project was the basis of Biotica, a Cambridge University spin-off Company. Later, he moved to GlaxoSmithKline in Stevenage, as Senior Molecular Biologist in the Natural Products and Biotransformations Unit, where he supervised a research group to use molecular biology tools to manipulate actinomycetes of the Company’s collection as well as established genetic methods for production of new macrolide antibiotics and developed systems to carry out protocols of molecular evolution of enzymes involved in biotransformation processes. In 2003, he moved to Novacta Biosystems Ltd, first as Group Leader and more recently as Director of Molecular Biology in the therapeutics arm of the Company, where he was responsible, among other projects, for the discovery and preclinical development of an antibiotic active against Gram-negative organisms.

Research Interest

 General Science