Chemistry

Dr. Patricia Rodriguez-Macia - prm28@leicester.ac.uk 

Natural and Artificial Metalloenzymes for Energy Conversion

• Mechanistic investigation of natural metalloenzymes for energy conversion, i.e. hydrogenases (H2 oxidation and production) and CO dehydrogenases (reversible CO2-to-CO conversion), via a combination of spectroscopic, electrochemical, computational and structural methods 
• Mechanistically-driven design of novel artificial metalloenzymes for green chemistry (i.e., H2 production, CO2 reduction and oxidation reactions) based on natural protein scaffolds
• Bioinspired de novo designed protein as scaffolds for novel artificial metalloenzymes for green chemistry

Dr. Rama Suntharalingam – k.suntharalingam@leicester.ac.uk 

Metallopharmaceuticals

• The development of metal-based anti-cancer stem cell agents
• Polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery
• Probing cell death pathways in cancer cells
• Anti-osteosarcoma small molecules with immunogenic potential
  

Dr. James Hodgkinson - jthodgkinson@leicester.ac.uk

Heterobifunctional Molecules and Chemical Probes

• The synthesis and biological evaluation of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) for the targeted degradation of individual HDAC corepressor complexes
• The synthesis of novel proximity-inducing heterobifunctional molecules and their mechanism of action studies
• The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs)

Dr. Richard Hopkinson - richard.hopkinson@leicester.ac.uk

The Chemical Biology of Formaldehyde

Dr. Richard Doveston - r.g.doveston@leicester.ac.uk

Molecular Glues and Cooperativity in Drug Development

• Molecular glues for 14-3-3 protein-protein interactions
• Dual ligand cooperativity for targeting Pin1 in cancer
• Fragment based development of inhibitors for PYCR1 in cancer
• Covalent protein modification strategies

Professor Steve Bull - sdb45@leicester.ac.uk

Fluorescent Chemical Probes

• Fluorescent probes
• Antibody-drug conjugates
• Cell imaging
• Antimicrobials
• Cancer drugs

Dr Phil Ash– philip.ash@leicester.ac.uk

Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Mechanism of Metalloenzymes and Materials for Energy Conversion

Prof. Andrew Hudson - ah242@leicester.ac.uk

Frontier Technologies in Spectroscopy, Imaging, Photonics and Microfluidics for Solving Problems at the Life Science Interface

Dr Jake Yang - my216@leicester.ac.uk

Electrochemistry for Real-World Applications and Environmental Monitoring 

Professor Karl Ryder - ksr7@leicester.ac.uk

Electrochemical Deposition and Dissolution Processes; Surface and Interfacial Structure

Professor Rob Hillman -  arh7@leicester.ac.uk

Interfacial Analysis and Imaging

• Electroactive polymer, metal and metal oxide films 
• Physical characterisation (spectroscopic, acoustic, X-ray, neutron) of electroactive films 
• Interfacial design for sensing and energy storage 
• Latent fingerprint visualisation in forensic science applications 

Professor Steve Bull – sdb45@leicester.ac.uk

Catalytic Upgrading of Biorenewables

• Catalytic transformations
• Biocatalysis
• Flow chemistry
• Biorenewable feedstocks

Dr Fabrizio Ortu - Fabrizio.ortu@leicester.ac.uk

Synthetic and Catalytic Applications of Earth Abundant Metals

• Earth abundant elements in synthesis and catalysis
• Small molecule activation for sustainable synthesis
• f-Block chemistry and molecular magnetism

Dr Alex Pulis - a.pulis@leicester.ac.uk

Novel Synthetic Methodology

Single Atom Catalysts for Fine Chemical Synthesis

• Development of Novel Material Synthetic Strategies: Explore innovative approaches for the synthesis of transition metal-based heterogeneous catalysts.
• Creation of Electro/Photocatalytic Cross-Coupling Strategies: Develop entirely new electrochemical and photocatalytic methods for C-C and C-N bond cross-coupling as proof-of-concept demonstrations, application to pharmecetical synthsise (training e.g., GC, GC-MS, NMR, XRD).
• Advanced Characterization and Mechanistic Studies: Characterize heterogeneous catalysts and conduct mechanistic investigations using advanced characterization techniques such as STEM, SEM, XPS, operando XAS, and synchrotron-based M√∂ssbauer spectroscopy.

Dr Sandy Kilpatrick - sandy.kilpatrick@leicester.ac.uk

Bioinspired Catalytic Small Molecule Activation

Dr Alison Stuart - alison.stuart@leicester.ac.uk

Novel Methodology for Fluorination of Organic Small Molecules

• Developing novel synthetic methodology for the fluorination of organic molecules
• Performing mechanistic studies to understand and control our reactions
• Designing new hypervalent iodine reagents 
• Investigating new strategies for enantioselective fluorination

Dr Greg Solan - gas8@leicester.ac.uk

Development of Main Group and Transition Metal Catalysts

• Next generation catalysts based on earth abundant transition metals
• Unlock the potential of functional ligands to enhance catalyst performance
• Apply methodology to industry-specific targets
• Address key sustainable challenges (e.g., convert CO2 to biofuels)