World-renowned computational chemist and drug designer Juswinder Singh received his PhD in computer-based drug design from Birkbeck shortly before moving permanently to the USA to pursue opportunities in experimental drug design. He is the founder and chief scientific officer of Ankaa Therapeutics, pioneering the development of targeted therapies to address drug resistance. 

In 2016, Juswinder was given the George and Christine Sosnovsky Award for Cancer Research by the American Cancer Society for leading the development of targeted covalent drugs, a transformative treatment for cancer patients. He also founded Avila Therapeutics in 2006, a company that won the 2013 New England Venture Captial Award. He has been cited over 3000 times in the field of rational drug design. 

Juswinder has said of Birkbeck that it is a great institution that “gives people opportunities through education.”