Dr Mark Ashton started his career in the pharmaceutical industry in 2002 working in both medicinal chemistry and process chemistry departments. In 2010, Mark joined the School of Pharmacy at Sunderland University as a Senior Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry where he taught across a range of both undergraduate and postgraduate chemistry-based degree programmes, including all four stages of the MPharm degree. In 2017 Mark joined the School of Pharmacy at Newcastle University as a lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry where he has overseen the redevelopment of the chemistry strand of the MPharm degree to improve the integration between the science and practice aspects of the degree. His research interests include the development of new antiviral agents and synthetic biology.