Dr Rob Kirby is the Chief Operating Officer at Metrion and an accomplished pharmacologist with nearly 20 years of experience in ion channel research and drug discovery. At Metrion, he is responsible for strategic planning, human resources, health and safety, GLP compliance, facilities and IT management, and resource planning. He has played a pivotal role in driving Metrion’s operational growth and in building the company’s international reputation as a leading ion channel contract research organisation (CRO).
Before joining Metrion, Rob spent eight years at Xention Ltd (UK) as a Principal Scientist. There, he led multiple screening campaigns targeting a broad range of ion channels, including Nav1.x, Cav1.x, Cav2.x, Kv1.x, TRPx, Kirx, gIRK, ICrac, HCN, and hERG. His work made extensive use of automated patch clamp electrophysiology platforms (QPatch, PatchLiner) and fluorescence-based screening technologies (FLIPR, FLEXStation).
Rob holds a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology and Electrophysiology from Sheffield Hallam University, where he researched a novel pharmacophore for BK potassium channel openers. He also earned a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the same institution, graduating with first-class honours and receiving two university awards.
Over the course of his career, Rob has authored 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, 18 published conference abstracts, and holds two published patents. His research contributions include work on two compounds that advanced to Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials during his time at Xention.
He has led hit-to-lead ion channel screening campaigns for BK, Nav1.x, TRPA1, Kv1.x, and GIRK channels, and directed biology teams at both Xention and Metrion on multi-year drug discovery collaborations with Japanese pharmaceutical companies, focused on sodium channels for pain (over four years) and potassium channels for autoimmune disease (also over four years). He has also managed several externally funded grants, including the EU Framework 7 project ‘MAREX’ (Identification of sodium channel blockers from marine sources), the EUROSTARS project ‘E!5125 ICRAC’ (Identification of ICRAC channel blockers), and a Biomedical Catalyst grant from the UK Technology Strategy Board for ‘TRPA1 hit expansion and validation’.
At Metrion, he implemented cardiac assay screening services and the development and expansion of GLP-compliant screening services. A founding member of Metrion, Rob is a recognised expert in the application of automated patch clamp electrophysiology to ion channel drug discovery and cardiac safety assessment.