Raymond Allen Dwek CBE FRS FRSC (born 10 November 1941) is a scientist at the University of Oxford and co-founder of the biotechnology company Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd.[1][2] Dwek was educated at Carmel College, and the University of Manchester, where he studied chemistry (1960–64).
This led to his appointment as university lecturer in biochemistry with a fellowship, by special election, at Exeter College in 1976.
In 1985, Dwek secured the first industrial grant to Oxford University in its 950-year history, from Monsanto Company USA, which was developing a pharmaceutical arm.
In 2002 in collaboration with Glycobiology Institute, Oxford GlycoSciences had a drug [6] for Gaucher disease approved worldwide.
In 1998, Dwek was also the founding scientist and chairman of the Scientific Board and Director of Synergy, which was established in the United States to develop antiviral agents for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis B and C infections.
The company sponsored the antiviral laboratory at the Glycobiology Institute from 2002 to 2017 and continues its sponsorship of the Annual Unither Barry Blumberg Virology Lecture [8] at Oxford University (2004-2027).
Dwek is the author of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) in biochemistry – application to enzyme systems (OUP, 1973), Principles and Problems in Physical Chemistry for Biochemists, with N C Price (OUP, 1974) and Biology Spectroscopy with I D Campbell (Benjamin Cummings, 1984).
He is a founding member of the UK-Israel Science Council and served as its co-chair alongside Professor Rivka Carmi in the years 2010–2017.
[9] Dwek was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to UK/Israel scientific collaboration [10] and in 2018 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ben-Gurion University.