Michael Page

Biography

Mike Page studied Chemistry at the now University of Brighton in 1967 and completed his PhD at the universities of Leicester and Glasgow in 1970. He worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with Professor W P Jencks in the United States between 1970 and 1972 and then with Professor R P Bell in 1972-1973. He was then appointed Lecturer at the now University of Huddersfield where he has been Senior Lecturer, Principal Lecturer, Reader and then Professor in 1985. Mike was Head of the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences from 1985 until 1997 and Dean of the School of Applied Sciences from 1989 to 2003. He also acted as Dean of Research from 1987-2003. He went on to become the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for planning, resources and research, from which he retired in 2009. He was awarded the honorary emeritus professorship by the University the following year and became the first recipient of a new award, Doctor of the University to add to his existing two DSc awards. Since then, Mike has remained an active researcher and is Director of the research unit IPOS. He was recently asked to take up the position of Acting Dean of the School of Applied Sciences as an interim appointment. Mike Page has been a member of BBSRC and EPSRC committees, including BioMolecular Sciences, Molecular Recognition, chemistry and organic chemistry. He has represented the UK on international committees such as European Union committees and IUPAC. He was Chairman of the Committee of Heads of Polytechnic Chemistry Departments and a member of the CNAA Chemistry Board. He was Chairman of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Qualifications and Education Board and a member of the Council and a member of several other RSC committees. He is currently Chair of the RSC Disciplinary Committee and member of the Chemistry Biology Interface Division committee. He was a member of the HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise panel for Chemistry in 1992 and was a member of the HEFCE pilot teaching assessment of chemistry. He has been Chairman of the RSC Organic Reaction Mechanisms Group and a member of the Editorial Boards of Chemical Communications, JCS Perkin 2, Natural Products, Biochemical Journal and J. Phys. Org. Chem. He was awarded the RSC Perkin Transactions 150th Anniversary Prize 1991; RSC Organic Reaction Mechanisms 2003 and SCI R&D for Society Award 2010. Mike Page has published over 200 research papers and supervised over 50 PhD students. He has edited books on The Chemistry of Enzyme Action (Elsevier 1984), Enzyme Mechanisms (Roy. Soc. Chem. 1987) and The Chemistry of β-Lactam Antibiotics (Blackie 1992). He recently co-authored, with Andrew Williams, a postgraduate book on Organic and BioOrganic Mechanisms (Longman 1997). Mike has given many international plenary lectures and contributed many papers at symposia world-wide. Mike has worked closely with industry, particularly the pharmaceutical sector and has had colloborative research projects with AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Avecia, Syngenta, James Robinson, British Biotech, ICI Pharm., Fisons, PanTherix, Proteus and NPilPharma.

Research Interest

The chemistry of β-lactam antibiotics and their derivatives The mechanism of β-lactamase, proteases and enzyme catalysed reactions Enzymes in synthesis - enantioselective biotransformations Rationalisation of enzyme catalytic power and enzyme specificity Drug design - enzyme inhibitors Kinetics and mechanisms in organic and biochemistry Intramolecular reactions Proton transfer Metal-ion and micelle catalysed reactions Enantioselective synthesis