Adrian studied Chemistry at King's College London, obtaining his B.Sc. (1st Class Honours) in 1992 and PhD in 1996, the latter under the supervision of Professor Keith Jones and working on the development of heteroaryl radicals in synthesis (sponsored by SmithKline Beecham). He was awarded a Royal Society European Research Exchange Fellowship for post-doctoral work with Professor Istvan Markó at the Université catholique de Louvain, in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium between 1996-8 (working towards the total synthesis of okadaic acid).

On his return to the UK, Adrian joined the process development group of GSK (Tonbridge, Kent) before leaving to take up his first academic post at the Open University in 1999. A move to the University of Exeter soon followed, where independent research really commenced and he also filled a number of Department academic administrative roles. Subsequently in 2005, Adrian was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at Queen Mary University of London, where he was also Senior Admissions Tutor and responsible for industrial placements.

He moved to the Chair of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Greenwich in January 2013.

Away from work, Adrian is a very keen Crystal Palace supporter and is an accomplished pianist and organist, regularly performing on both instruments and also leading, conducting and rehearsing several orchestras and choirs.