Debra L. Banville

AstraZeneca, Delaware, USA

Debra Banville's 16 years experience in pharmaceutical research at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (AZ) ranges from drug discovery research in the first 10 years (especially NMR solution structures of drugs bound to proteins) to her current role in information science. As an information scientist and analyst, Debra recognised the growing challenges in scientific research of managing too much information. By bridging the disciplines of scientific research with information science, Debra's work focuses on creating and delivering solutions that address the growing problem the scientific research community faces. This is the problem of finding the "right" information from an overload of relevant information. Her recent publication in Drug Discovery Today (January 2006), reviews the evolution of chemical information text data mining and how it applies to the current problems facing the research community.

Debra received her BA from Brandeis University in Chemistry, and a PhD from Emory University under Dr Luigi Marzilli, and in collaboration with Dr W. David Wilson (Georgia State University). Her thesis focused on the interaction of inorganic molecules with DNA. In 1985, Debra started research at the University of California at San Francisco with Dr Thomas James and Dr Richard Shafer applying NMR/MRS/MRI technologies to both in vivo and in vitro systems. Debra took a position at AZ (formerly ICI) leading the NMR laboratory and conducting research in drug-protein interactions. More recently, Debra received her project management professional certification (PMP) from the Project Management Institute and currently leads projects focused on the management of scientific information for the research community within AstraZeneca.