Research Group Leader and Lecturer in Radiochemistry
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, UK, United Kingdom
I am a lecturer in radiochemistry in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University. I lead a research team that is dedicated to the synthesis and preclinical evaluation of new radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapeutic applications.
I am the Degree Programme Director for MSc Drug Chemistry (2022-present) and the lead for radiochemistry within the Discovery of Medicines research theme in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.
I have published >50 papers (with >1000 citations) in this area and have recently co-authored 2 textbooks on the topic of click chemistry and its role in radiochemistry. I also sit on the editorial board of several peer-reviewed journals.
My research has been generously supported by EPSRC, NIHR, Orthopaedic Research UK, UK SPINE, Wellcome Trust, and NIHR.
Prior to Newcastle, I spent 5 years at the University of Oxford (supervisor: Prof. Bart Cornelissen) where my work focused on the radiosynthesis, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of several PET and SPECT imaging agents, and the development of novel pretargeting strategies for imaging cancer.
Prior to Oxford, I undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Alberta (supervisor: Prof. Frank Wuest) focused on PET radiochemistry involving fluorine-18, copper-64, gallium-68, and zirconium-89, and PET-based cancer imaging. During this time, I was awarded an Alberta Innovates Fellowship Award.
In 2009, I completed a PhD in chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Angelo Amoroso and Prof. Peter Edwards at Cardiff University. Here, my research focused on the development of molecular imaging agents based on lanthanide and transition metal complexes.