Background

Elizabeth (Liz) Akam completed her first degree in Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool in 1995 for which she was awarded the Gibson Sinclair Undergraduate Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Achievement 3 years running. Following this, Liz accepted a Wellcome Prize PhD Scholarship to work with Professor Steve Nahorski investigating neuropharmacology of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors at The University of Leicester. On completion of her PhD in February 1999, Liz worked with Professor Philip Strange at The University of Reading before embarking on a career as a Biochemist within the Pharmaceutical Industry. Concomitantly Liz developed a passion for sports and exercise and this culminated in the attainment of her Personal Training in General Populations GNVQ Level 3 in 2007. This together with her specialist knowledge in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics allows her to support both the staff and students of the School of Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences.

Featured Publications

• Biochemical and pharmacological characterisation of AZD1981, an orally available selective CRTh2 antagonist in clinical development for asthma.
  Schmidt J, Bell F, Akam E, Marshall C, Dainty I, Heinemann A, Dougall I, Bonnert R, Sargent C.
  Br J Pharmacol. 2012 Nov 12. doi: 10.1111/bph.12053
• Switching between agonists and antagonists at CRTh2 in a series of highly potent and selective biaryl phenoxyacetic acids.
  Luker T, Bonnert R, Schmidt J, Sargent C, Paine SW, Thom S, Pairaudeau G, Patel A, Mohammed R, Akam E, Dougall I, Davis AM, Abbott P, Brough S, Millichip I, McInally T.
  Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2011 Jun 15;21(12):3616-21.
• Inverse agonist properties of atypical antipsychotic drugs.
  Akam E, Strange PG.
  Biochem Pharmacol. 2004 Jun 1;67(11):2039-45.
• G(q/11) and G(i/o) activation profiles in CHO cells expressing human muscarinic acetylcholine receptors: dependence on agonist as well as receptor-subtype.
  Akam EC, Challiss RA, Nahorski SR.
  Br J Pharmacol. 2001 Feb;132(4):950-8.
• Pharmacological characterization of type 1alpha metabotropic glutamate receptor-stimulated [35S]-GTPgammaS binding.
  Akam EC, Carruthers AM, Nahorski SR, Challiss RA.
  Br J Pharmacol. 1997 Jul;121(6):1203-9. 

Clinical trial applications/studies

• Phase I Study to Assess the Effect on Healthy Male Volunteers of Ketoconazole on the Pharmacokinetics of a Single Dose of AZD5069 Administered Orally. http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01735240
• AZD5069 Neutrophil Function Study. http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01480739
• A Phase II Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of AZD5069 in Patients With Uncontrolled Persistent Asthma.http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01704495
• Open Label, Healthy Volunteers, ADME Study With Single Oral Administration of [14C] AZD5069. http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01332903
• Study to Investigate the Safety, Tolerability and Activity of AZD5069 When Given as a Single Dose to Healthy Male and/or Female Subjects.http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT00953888
• This Study Will Investigate How Food and Age Effect the Way the Body Handles the AZD5069 Drug Given as a Oral Dose. http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01083238
• A Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics (PK) and Pharmacodynamics (PD) of Multiple Ascending Doses of AZD5069 in Healthy Volunteers. http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01051505
• A 4 Week Study to Investigate the Safety and Tolerability of AZD5069 in Patients With Moderate to Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01233232
• Japanese Single and Multiple Ascending Dose (JSMAD), Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics (PK) and Pharmacodynamics (PD) Study of AZD5069.http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01100047
• Evaluation of the Effect of AZD5069 in Patients With Bronchiectasis.http://ClinicalTrials.gov/show/NCT01255592