Prof William (Bill) Wilson

Professor Bill Wilson undertook his PhD on the mechanism of action of amsacrine, the first synthetic topoisomerase II inhibitor to achieve FDA approval, which initiated a career-long interest in drug discovery with an academic environment. After postdoctoral training in radiation biology at Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, he returned to the University of Auckland to pursue his interests in drug discovery, cancer pharmacology, and radiobiology. His current projects during an active retirement include development of a mechanistic radiobiology model for inhibitors of the repair enzyme DNA-PK, and the preclinical and clinical development of these agents as tumour-selective radiosensitisers.