CTMS Academic Staff
Professor John Bower
Research group
John is the Director of the Centre. John’s expertise is in the development of synthetic methods for building complex molecules. His group works in the areas of organometallic chemistry, heterocyclic chemistry, physical organic chemistry and total synthesis.
Professor Paul O’Neill
Research group
Paul is a Co-Director of the Centre (Medicinal Chemistry).
Paul’s expertise is in the area of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. His primary focus is on infectious disease drug discovery which requires the synthesis of a diverse array of scaffolds and small molecule probes for biological screening. Areas of synthetic chemistry covered within the group include heterocyclic chemistry, semi-synthetic natural product chemistry and asymmetric synthesis.
Professor Jianliang Xiao
Research group
Jianliang is a Co-Director of the Centre (Synthetic Methods).
Jianliang’s research is concerned with the design, development and understanding of molecular catalysts for greener organic synthesis.
Dr Christophe Aïssa
Research group
Christophe’s expertise in organic synthesis is reflected in his group’s current endeavours in homogeneous catalysis, the development of new and safer reagents, and the manipulation of strained or inert bonds. This research is linked to industrial interests established through recurrent collaborations with pharmaceutical companies.
Professor Neil Berry
Research group
Neil’s expertise is in computational modelling to understand and predict molecular properties. His group is highly collaborative with synthesis and testing groups and works in the areas of medicinal chemistry, materials chemistry, reaction mechanisms and chemoinformatics.
Dr Andrew Carnell
Staff Profile
Andrew’s research centres on discovery and development of enzymes for application in synthesis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology. He is developing new enzymes for ‘non-natural’ biosynthetic pathways for pharmaceutical synthesis and degradation and valorisation of waste plastics.
Dr David Hong
Research group
David’s expertise is in: the optimisation of synthetic methods (mostly diversity orientated) for drug discovery, the design and synthesis of chemical probes with specific functions for in vitro or in vivo biological studies, and the derivatisation of natural products for biological and pharmaceutical applications through semi-synthesis.
Dr Konstantin Luzyanin
Research group
Konstantin is the Head of Analytical Services. Konstantin’s expertise is in the field of metal-mediated chemistry and transition-metal catalysis, as well as applied analytical chemistry. His group works in close collaboration with Analytical Services in the Department of Chemistry offering combined expertise in structural characterisation of a broad range of compounds and materials using modern analytical techniques, including NMR spectroscopy, mass-spectrometry, and 2D hyphenated GC/HPLC-MS methods.
Dr Gemma Nixon
Research group
Gemma's expertise is in the areas of medicinal chemistry drug discovery, PROTACs and target identification. With a strong emphasis on development of novel therapies used in the treatment of tuberculosis, fungal infections, multiple cancers and motor neurone disease.
Dr Alexey Sergeev
Staff Profile
Alexey’s expertise includes the design and investigation of transition-metal-mediated transformations of C-H and C-C bonds for selective organic synthesis. His group is active in the areas of organometallic and physical organic chemistry, homogeneous catalysis and organic synthesis.
Dr John Ward
Research group
John is the Industrial Liaison Lead for the Centre and sits on the CheM62 Network committee. John's expertise is in the development of synthetic methods and catalysts for asymmetric synthesis. His group works in the areas of synthetic organic chemistry, heterogeneous photocatalysis, and asymmetric catalysis.
Dr Anthony Bradley
Anthony’s research interests are in dramatically reducing the cost of drug discovery through automation and computation, utilising the growing accessibility of AI, computational physics, and robotics. Focussing on three key areas: 1. Creating novel ML-grade datasets through automation. 2. Developing new fit-for-purpose predictive modelling capabilities. 3. Redesigning the process by which we design drugs.
CTMS Associate Academic Staff
Dr Andrea Vezzoli
Staff Profile
Research group
CTMS Associate Academic Staff
Andrea’s group works on the synthesis of molecular wires for nanoelectronic applications. He has expertise in both organic and organometallic species, with a focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metal and binary nanoclusters, and conjugated oligomers. His group works at the boundary between chemistry and solid-state physics, delivering detailed characterisation of molecular species at the single-entity scale.
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