School of Human Sciences staff profiles content store_hidden Kenneth White Our staff

Professor White is a graduate in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, where he also completed his DPhil in the Department of Pharmacology. During his doctoral studies he started his lifelong interest in applying chemistry to biological problems. After Oxford he was awarded a Visiting Fellowship to gain post-doctoral research experience at the National Institutes of Health in the USA, where he worked in the lab of Henry Metzger on the cloning of the IgE receptor, a major target of allergy research at the time.

During his time at Oxford and in the US he developed an interest in Japanese culture and was awarded one of the first JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Fellowships to carry out further post-doctoral research, in the laboratory of Tasuku Honjo at the University of Kyoto, where he studied gene regulation of human T-cell leukaemic virus type I (HTLV-1). On his return to the UK he took up his first academic position as Lecturer in Molecular Biology at the then United Medical and Dental schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, now merged with King's College London. He moved to London Met (University of North London at the time) in 1998 as Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology, he was promoted to Reader in Biosciences in 2011 and to Professor of Molecular Biosciences in 2020.

Professor White is a member of the Molecular Systems for Health Research Group (MSHRG) and has a long-standing interest in iron and health, focussing on molecular mechanisms involved in systemic (whole-body) iron homeostasis.

Current interests include the role of ferroxidases in facilitating iron circulation around the body, differentiation of macrophages involved in recycling iron from senescent red blood cells, and development of nanoformulations to treat anaemia.

The last links to recent work on the use of electrohydrodyamic techniques for preparing nanofibers and nanoparticles with biomedical applications. Professor White also has developed an interest in the identification and characterisation of novel anti-diabetic phytochemicals and their mechanism of action.

Professor White is Course Leader of Medical Genomics MSc.

He is also module leader of BE6057SU Toxicology, BM7042 Biomedical Diagnostics, BM7121 Genetic and Genomic Informatics, BM7122 Medical Genetics, BM7P05 Research Project for Biomedical Sciences, BM7108DL Introduction to Molecular Biology and Genetics [Distance Learning], BM7109DL Clinical Genetics [Distance Learning], BM720DL Research Project (Biomedical Science) [Distance Learning], MS7P35 Research Project for Pharmaceutical Science. He also contributes to teaching molecular biology and bio-informatics on several other modules.

• Shrestha SC, Ghebremeskel K, White K, Minelli C, Tewfik I, Thapa P, Tewfik S. "Formulation and Characterization of Phytostanol Ester Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for the Management of Hypercholesterolemia: An ex-vivo study” Int J Nanomedicine accepted     
• Aslan ES, White K, Syed BA, Srai KS, Evans RW.  “Expression of soluble active fluorescently tagged hephaestin in COS and CHO cell lines”  Turkish Journal of Biology 2020
• Shrestha SC, White K, Minelli C, Tewfik I, Thapa P and Tewfik S. “A perspective on nanomedicine: focus on cardiovascular medicine”, International Journal of Food Nutrition and Public Health, 11,  97-119, 2019.   
• Kandunuri KK, White K, Smith E. “An overview on the efficacy of herbs used in Ayurvedic formulations for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes”.  International Journal of Herbal Medicine 4, 116-121, 2016.  
• de Armas E, Escobar A, Faure R, Marrero E, Bligh ASW, Branford-White CJ, White KN. “Stimulation of Interleukin-2 [IL-2] Release by Rhizophora mangle Bark Aqueous Extracts and Its Fractions”. European J Med Plants 15, 1-10, 2016. DOI:10.9734/EJMP/2016/26743 
• Kazemain H, Yusuf SA, White K, Grimaldi CM.  “NN approach and its comparison with NN-SVM to beta-barrel prediction”. Expert Systems with Applications 61, 203-214, 2016. 
• Roostaei D, Rezazadeh S, Sharafi S, White K. “Anti-diabetic and Pharmacological Activities of Phytoestrogens”. J Medicinal Plants 15, 2016.  
• Chen G, Xu Y, Yu D-G, Zhang D, Chatterton N, White K. “Structure-tunable Janus Fibers Fabricated Using Spinnerets with Varying Port Angles” Chem Comm 51, 4623-4626, 2015. 
• Yu D-G, White K, Chatterton N, Li Y, Lia L, Wang X. “Structural lipid nanoparticles self-assembled from electrospun core-shell polymeric nanocomposites”.  RSC Advances, 5, 9462-9466, 2015. 
• Kazemian H, Yusuf SA, White K  “Signal peptide discrimination and cleavage site identification using SVM and NN”  Computers in Biology and Medicine 45, 98-110, 2014.  (IF 1.162).
• Yan J, White K, Yu D-G, Zhao X-Y.  “Sustained-release multiple-component cellulose acetate nanofibers fabricated using a modified coaxial electrospinning process” J Material Sci 49, 538-547 2014. (IF 2.163)
• Kazemain H, White K, Palmer-Brown D, Yusuf SA.  “Applications of Evolutionary SVM to Prediction of Membrane Alpha-Helices” Expert Systems With Applications 40, 3412-3420, 2013. (IF 2.203)
• Pan X, Hartley JM, Hartley JA, White KN, Wang Z, Bligh SWA.  “Evodiamine, a dual catalytic inhibitor of type I and II topoisomerases, exhibits enhanced inhibition against camptothecin resistant cells.” Phytomedicine 19, 618-624, 2012. (IF 2.662)
• Haeri MR, Khalatbari Limaki H, Branford White CJ, White KN “Non-insulin dependent anti-diabetic activity of (2S, 3R, 4S) 4-hydroxyisoleucine of fenugreek(Trigonella foenum graecum)in streptozotocin-induced type I diabetic rats” Phytomedicine 19, 571-574, 2012. (IF 2.662)
• White KN, Conesa C, Sánchez L,Amini M, Farnaud S, Lorvoralak C, Evans RW. “The transfer of iron between ceruloplasmin and transferrins”.  Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1820, 411-416, 2012. (IF 4.663)
• Yu D-G, Branford-White C, Bligh SWA, White K, Chatterton NP, Zhu LM (2011) Improving Polymer Nanofiber Quality Using a Modified Co-axial Electrospinning Process. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 32, 744-750, 2011. (IF 4.365)
• Yu D-G, White K, Yang J-H, Wang X, Qian W, Li Y. “PVP nanofibers prepared using co-axial electrospinning with salt solution as sheath fluid” Materials Letters 67, 78-80, 2012.  (IF 2.117)
• Yu D-G, Branford-White C, Williams GR, Bligh SWA, White K, Zhu L-M, Chatteron NP “Self-assembled liposomes from amphiphilic electrospun nanofibers” Soft Matter 7, 8239-8247, 2011.  (IF 4.46)
• Yang Y-C, Crowder J,Wardle N J, Yang L, White K N, Wang Z-T, Bligh S W A “1H-NMR study of monocrotaline and its metabolites in human blood” Food Chem. Toxicol. 49, 2793-2799, 2011. (IF 2.602)
• Shen X-X, Yu D-G, Zhu L M, Branford-White C, White K, Chatteron N P, “Electrospun diclofenac sodium loaded Eudragit L 100-55 nanofibers for colon-targeted drug delivery" Int. J. Pharmaceut. 408, 200-207, 2011. (IF 2.962)
• Haeri M R, Izadoost M, Ardekani M R S and White K   “Improved Isolation of 4-Hydroxyisoleucine from Trigonella foenum graecum seeds”. Chem. Nat. Compounds 47, 157-158, 2011. (IF 0.572)
• Yu D-G, Zhu L-M, Bligh S W A., Branford-White C, and White K N  “Coaxial electrospinning with organic solvent for controlling the size of self-assembled nano-particles” Chem. Commun. 47, 1216 – 1218, 2011. (IF 5.504)
• Yu D-G, Branford-White C, Chatteron N P, White K, Zhu L M, Shen X X, Nie W “Electrospinning of Concentrated Polymer Solutions”  Macromolecules 43, 10743 – 10746, 2010. (IF 4.539)
• Yu D-G, Gao L-D, Lu W-Y, Branford-White C, White K, and Zhu L-M  “Multicomponent amorphous nanofibers electrospun from hot aqueous solutions of a poorly soluble drug” Pharm. Res. 27, 2466 - 2477, 2010. (IF 3.933)
• Xu Y, Zhang Z, Su S, White K N, Bligh S W A, Branford-White C J and Wang Z-T  “Treatment with Qing’E, a Kidney-Invigorating Chinese Herbal Formula, Antagonizes the Estrogen Decline in Ovariectomized Mice” Revujenation Res. 13, 479 - 488, 2010. (IF 4.138)
• Yu D-G, Shen X-X, Branford-White C, White K, Zhu L-M and Bligh S W A  “Oral fast-dissolving drug delivery membranes prepared from electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone ultrafine fibers”  Nanotechnology 20, 055104, 2009. (IF 3.317)
• Haeri M R, Rahbani M, Ardekani M R S and White K N  “The Effect of Fenugreek 4-Hydroxyisoleucine on Liver Function Biomarkers and Glucose in Diabetic and Fructose-fed Rats” Phytother. Res. 23, 61 – 64, 2009. (IF 1.746)

Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology