Mustard gas, electrodes and PARP: Serendipity in cancer research

Herbie Newell is Professor of Cancer Therapeutics, Northern Institute of Cancer Research, Newcastle upon Tyne. He left school at the age of 16 and went to work as a technician in the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation Research Laboratory, gaining Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) and Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Applied Biology on day release. He gained his PhD after 5 years as a part time student. At present he manages the research and careers of people involved in drug discovery at the University of Newcastle, and has worked for many years with Cancer Research UK in promoting bench-to-bedside research for patient benefit.