Alan Richard Brash (born 1949) is a professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University.[1] He is a leading authority on the biosynthesis of prostoglandins and eicosanoids.[1]
Brash was educated at Strathallan School near Perth, Scotland and Downing College, Cambridge, where he was elected a scholar.[2] He graduated with a BA in medical sciences in 1970 and proceeded to the University of Edinburgh to study for his PhD, graduating in 1976.[3] Brash was then appointed a research fellow in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London.[3] Thereafter, he moved to Vanderbilt University.[3]
During his time at Vanderbilt, Brash's research has focused on the analysis of the mechanisms of formation and transformation of lipoxygenase products with an interest in their physiological role.[3] His findings have initiated further research on stereochemical aspects of lipoxygenase catalysis and on the role of epithelial lipoxygenases.[3]
Furthermore, his research has led to more work on the biochemistry of the CYP74 family of cytochrome P450s, and on the catalase-related hemoproteins which also metabolize fatty acid hydroperoxides.[3] As of 2023[update], he had published more than 250 research papers.[4]
In October 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[5]