Nicola Curtin

Nicola Curtin is a pioneering DDR cancer pharmacologist at Newcastle University who made foundational contributions to the preclinical development of PARP inhibitors, including rucaparib and other early PARP inhibitor chemical series. She characterized the differential effects of PARP catalytic inhibition versus PARP trapping and the cytotoxicity mechanisms of clinical PARP inhibitors. Her preclinical work established that PARP inhibitor cytotoxicity derives not just from loss of SSB repair but from PARP-DNA complex trapping. She has collaborated on biomarker analyses and translational studies for PARP inhibitors in clinical development.