Phil Spence

Founder; Developer; Scientist

About Me

A multidisciplinary professional with expertise at the intersection of chemistry, software development, and machine learning. As the Head of Informatics and Co-founder at HotHouse Therapeutics, I leverage my extensive background in scientific research and computational methods to develop innovative solutions. My journey began with a solid foundation in chemistry, earning both my MChem and PhD from the University of East Anglia, followed by postdoctoral research at the prestigious John Innes Centre.

My technical skillset spans multiple domains including software development in Python, C/C++, and JavaScript, as well as specialized expertise in machine learning frameworks like PyTorch and CUDA. As a cheminformatician, I utilize tools like RDKit to bridge the gap between chemical data and computational analysis. My research is documented in peer-reviewed scientific publications, reflecting my commitment to advancing knowledge at the frontier of computational chemistry and therapeutic development.

Career Timeline

2024 - Present

Head of Informatics & Co-founder

HotHouse Therapeutics

Founding scientist. Development and deployment of ML/AI models (LLMs & GNNs) to predict both the chemistry & biology of natural products. Cheminformatic analysis of natural chemical space. Establishment of company tech stack from the ground up.

2020 - 2024

Postdoctoral Researcher

John Innes Centre

Applying machine learning to predict the bioactivity of natural products. Establishing the theoretical chemical space of triterpenes. Develop an in silico enzyme reaction toolkit. Predicting the reactivity of triterpene cyclases.

2016 - 2020

PhD Chemistry

University of East Anglia

Development of fluorescent probes to target i-motif DNA. In silico and in vitro screening of i-motif binding ligands.

2011 - 2015

MChem Chemistry

University of East Anglia

Development of novel polyoxometalate non-linear optical chromophores for the application of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Skills

Software

  • Scientific (Python, C/C++)
  • Data (SQL, Cypher)
  • Frontend (HTML, CSS, JS)

Machine Learning

  • PyTorch/LibTorch
  • Huggingface
  • LLMs; GFlowNets; GNNs

Cheminformatician

  • RDKit (Python/C++)
  • Data Science (Pandas, Matplotlib, NumPy)
  • Computational Chemistry (GROMACS, AutoDock)

Research Papers

Harnessing plant biosynthesis for the development of next-generation therapeutics

Spence P, Reed J, Osbourn APLOS Biology2024

Optical, third order non-linear optical and electrochemical properties of dipolar, centrosymmetric and C2v organoimido polyoxometalate derivatives

Al-Yasari A, El Moll H, Purdy R, Vincent KB, Spence P, Malval JP, Fielden JPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics2021

[(C C)Au(N N)]+ Complexes as a New Family of Anticancer Candidates: Synthesis, Characterization and Exploration of the Antiproliferative Properties

Khodjoyan S, Remadna E, Dossmann H, Lesage D, Gontard G, Forté J, Hoffmeister H, Basu U, Ott I, Spence P et al.Chemistry – A European Journal2021

Beyond Solvent Exclusion: i-Motif Detecting Capability and an Alternative DNA Light-Switching Mechanism in a Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complex

Spence P, Fielden J, Waller ZAEJournal of the American Chemical Society2020

Fine-tuning polyoxometalate non-linear optical chromophores: a molecular electronic “Goldilocks” effect

Al-Yasari A, Spence P, El Moll H, Van Steerteghem N, Horton PN, Brunschwig BS, Clays K, Fielden JDalton Transactions2018