Sophie Day-Riley

Sophie joined Carpmaels & Ransford in 2026 as a trainee patent attorney in the Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals Team, having begun her career at another IP firm in 2024. She holds a first-class integrated master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Manchester and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Cambridge, completed under the supervision of Professor David Spring and supported by an AstraZeneca Scholarship.

During her master’s studies, Sophie utilised radical reactions in the enantioselective total synthesis of a biologically active natural product. In her doctoral research, she developed novel PROTACs (bifunctional degraders) for the selective degradation of the protein kinase CK2, with potential therapeutic applications in triple negative breast cancer and colon cancer. She also carried out in vitro biological evaluation of PROTACs at Cancer Research UK under the supervision of Professor Jason Carroll. Her doctoral studies resulted in a first-author publication, and she authored a review article on small molecules targeting CK2.

Prior to her academic research, she spent the third year of her undergraduate degree at GlaxoSmithKline, where she gained experience in structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of novel ligands and the synthesis of PROTACs for targeted protein degradation.

Outside of work, Sophie enjoys bouldering, going to the gym, and PC gaming.