ApconiX Welcomes Dr Brandon Coke
ApconiX is delighted to welcome Dr Brandon Coke who is joining the Safety Science Group (SSG) as a Senior Scientist and will be working with Dr Nicholas Coltman, Deputy Head of SSG.
Career
Brandon’s journey in science began with an MSci in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, where his project focused on developing long-term liver organoid cultures for genotoxicity testing.
After graduation, Brandon completed a PhD at the University of Southampton, specialising in large scale omics analysis. During his doctoral research, he developed sophisticated pipelines to process raw genomic and proteomic data using R, Python, and shell scripting. He also built a machine learning model gene expression using genomic and transcript-based features.
Beyond his primary PhD work, Brandon contributed to several collaborative projects. He conducted proteomic studies examining β-catenin interactions in acute myeloid leukaemia, focusing on interactions with splicing proteins and RNA binding proteins. He also worked on proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of host-cell gene expression in response to Zika virus proteins, with a particularly exciting project exploring the potential use of Zika-viruses for oncolytic therapy in brain tumours.
Working at ApconiX
Brandon’s connection to ApconiX came through Nic Coltman, whom he met during his master’s studies in the molecular toxicology laboratories at the University of Birmingham. When Brandon was seeking a position in his domain, Nic reached out and facilitated the introduction to ApconiX.
In his role, Brandon is providing support with transcriptomics and proteomics-related Target Safety Assessment (TSA) projects, bringing his computational expertise to bear on complex biological questions. In addition, he has been supporting Dr James McDonagh, Principal Applied AI Scientist, in developing analytical workflows and exploring opportunities for SSG in cloud-based computing for advanced data analyses.
Nic commented: “Brandon’s appointment to the SSG exemplifies our commitment to building the infrastructure and domain expertise required to interrogate high-dimensional data sets that we continue to leverage in order to support our clients in tackling critical safety questions. Brandon’s research background means that we have also been able to increase our score of SSG members with a Molecular Mechanistic Toxicology background and thus continue to enhance our domain expertise on offer to our clients and collaborators.
Interests outside of work
Brandon brings his scientific mindset to his hobbies, particularly gardening. He used to use Arduino kits (software and hardware designed for building digital devices) to create a pH monitor for his plants. His interest in electronics extends beyond the garden. Brandon enjoys building controllers and switches and tinkering with computer hardware, blending his computational skills with hands-on engineering projects.
