Dr Katherine Wheelhouse FRSC

Winner: 2022 Organic Division mid-career Award: MSD Award

GlaxoSmithKline

For contributions to the application and industrialisation of chemical catalysis in the pharmaceutical industry in the pursuit of more sustainable synthesis of medicines.

Celebrate Dr Katherine Wheelhouse

#RSCPrizes

Download celebratory graphic →

By collaborating, we can bring in more diverse viewpoints, which is where true innovation arises.

Katherine is a chemist within Drug Substance Development, a multi-functional department at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) that includes chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science groups working collaboratively to develop small molecule drugs.

The department’s accountabilities include determining the best way to construct potential drug molecules, both in terms of the route, i.e., the sequence of chemical intermediates and the process, which is essentially the recipe for each step. This work enables successful scale-up of drug candidates from milligram to multi-kilogram and even tonne scale, and the eventual transfer to manufacturing plants to produce the high-quality active ingredient required for formulation into the final medicine prescribed to the patient.

Read winner biography

Dr Katherine Wheelhouse studied for her MChem at Jesus College, Oxford, graduating in 2004; her final year project was carried out under the supervision of Professor Timothy Donohoe in the area of ring-closing metathesis for heterocycle synthesis. She remained in the Donohoe group for her DPhil, developing osmium-mediated oxidative cyclisation reactions, before joining GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as a process development chemist in 2008.

Since 2011 Katherine has specialised in the application of chemical catalysis to pharmaceutical development and manufacture, impacting around 100 projects across all stages of development through practical support or consultation. She currently leads GSK’s global chemical catalysis community of practice. Throughout this time, she has been a champion of modernised approaches to chemical development, including automation, high-throughput experimentation and reaction monitoring. Katherine’s role expanded in 2021 to encompass broader technology strategy and application within small molecule chemical development.

Katherine is a strong believer in collaboration for innovation, being active in a range of academic collaborations and multinational consortia throughout the last decade. She is a GSK scientific fellow, a member of the RSC Applied Catalysis Committee and of the editorial advisory board of the journal Organic Process Research and Development.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

My secondary school chemistry teacher, Mrs Ashby, really brought the subject to life – chemistry was my favourite subject from my early teens.

Who or what has inspired you?

I’m constantly inspired by my amazing colleagues and collaborators; it’s a privilege to be able to work with people who constantly help you develop. I’ve also been inspired by supporting plant campaigns for processes I’ve worked on – there’s nothing quite like looking at multiple kegs of material that has been successfully delivered using the recipe you developed and knowing that this will ultimately reach patients.

What motivates you?

Being accountable for having an impact on developing medicines for patients and the immense privilege of being able to do work every day that is not only exciting but also has a positive impact on human health.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?

Highly collaborative, where diverse views are welcomed, everyone has accountability for their impact and is encouraged to act with integrity and do the right thing.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

None of us knows as much as all of us! Solving complex problems involves a wide range of skills, experience and approaches. By collaborating we can bring in more diverse viewpoints, which is where true innovation arises. I’ve been very fortunate in my career so far to have the opportunity to participate in numerous teams both within GSK and with external collaborators and have learned so much from each of these interactions – not all of it technical.