Dr John Adcock

Dr John Adcock is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Respiratory Pharmacology Research Group.

John obtained an MiBiol (Hons) degree in Pharmacology (NESCOT), an MSc in Biochemistry (Chelsea) and a PhD in Physiology (St George’s Hospital Medical School), all whilst working for the Wellcome Research Laboratories. John has worked predominantly within the Pharmaceutical Industry, specialising in respiratory physiology and pharmacology, and has focused primarily on novel drug discovery. With about ‘40’ years in the business (26 years at the Wellcome Research Laboratories, 6 years as Co-founder, Director and Chairman of Pneumolabs (UK) Ltd and 8 years at Pfizer), his recognised expertise in sensory neuropharmacology, particularly in airway disease (including asthma, COPD and chronic cough), led to over 30 peer-reviewed publications and invited presentations.  During his time in industry, John has been involved with managing teams of research scientists, identifying and developing novel targets for drug discovery, influencing Clinical Project Investigations as well as producing expert reports for marketing. John has extensive experience and worked on many potential novel therapeutic agents for lung disease including bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory and sensory nerve targets. Throughout his time in the industry, John also took great pleasure in lecturing/supervising undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students as well as examining PhD candidates.   

One of John’s great passions is cough which is arguably the most common symptom associated with pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis, COPD, the common cold and, in itself, as a standalone condition in the form of chronic cough. Thus, John shares many interests and, as an honorary member, relishes the opportunity to support the research activities of the group.