Current research group

Academic visitors

Dr Jenan Al-Sadoon (née Mohammed)

Jenan completed her BSc in Chemistry in 2000, her MSc in Physical Chemistry in the synthesis of polymeric liquid crystals in 2004, and her PhD in the synthesis of aminoquinones and evaluation of their antibacterial activity against different strains of bacteria in 2015, with cooperation between the Faculties of Science and Medicine at the University of Basra, Iraq.

Before joining the University of Sheffield, Jenan was a lecturer in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Basra.

Degree(s): MScChem (University of Basra), PhD (University of Basra)

Project: Natural product synthesis

Publications:

  • Studying of Citric acid Efficiency in Removal of lead and copper with neutralisation of Soil’s Bicarbonate, J. N. Mohammed, A. H. Al-Farttoosy, Journal of Kerbala University, 2009, 7(4), 132–139.

  • Preparation and diagnosis of cross-linkage hydrogels and studying cephalexin release from these matrixes, J. N. Mohammed, Basrah Journal of Veterinary medicine, 8(1).

  • In vitro and vivo evaluation of antibacterial activity of a novel 2,5-Bis (hetero amino)-1,4- Benzoquinones, J. N. Mohammed, A. Jawad Hassan, A. Hanan Al-Hazam, Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences: International Journal of Applied Chemical Sciences Research, 2014, 2(2), 1–20.

  • Rapid and Convenient Microwave–assisted, Regioselective synthesis and characterization of a novel 2,5- Bis (hetero amino)-1,4-Benzoquinones, J. N. Mohammed, A. Jawad Hassan, A. Hanan Al-Hazam, Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences: International Journal of Applied Chemical Sciences Research, 5(4), 1328–1339.

Postgraduate researchers

Bryony Cotterell

Bryony is jointly supervised with Professor Simon Foster with the aim to develop novel chemical probes for use with state of the art microscopy analysis to map the nanoscale architecture and dynamics of peptidoglycan during growth and the action of antibiotics.

Her main passion is walking and cycling through the Peak District, encouraging others through organising charity walks and social walks in the peaks. She is currently training for the summer triathlon season.

Degree: MChem Chemistry (University of Sheffield)

Project: Cell wall chemistry

Huda Dasuki (née Hassan Ibrahim)

Huda studied at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria, from which she received her first degree in Chemistry (1992), and later a masters degree in organic chemistry (2009). Working with natural products as a source of biologically active lead components fascinates her.

She also has interests in the synthesis of organic therapeutic medicines that provide healing. Huda is currently a lecturer at the “Police academy Wudil” Kano, on study leave. She has a passion for working with youths and mentoring them.

Degree(s): Chemistry, masters degree in organic chemistry (Bayero University Kano, Nigeria)

Project: Isolation and synthesis of new anti-inflammatory agents from natural products

Publications:

  • Protective effect of leaves of Maerua angolensis (Cappaidacea) on aspirin-induced gastric ulcer in rats, S.Y. Mudi and H. H. Ibrahim, Chemclass J., 2009, 063-069.

  • Studies of brine shrimp lethality and activity from the leaf extract of Red Acalypha on respiratory tract pathogenic bacteria, S.Y. Mudi, A. Salisu and H. H. Ibrahim, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Applied Sciences, 2010, 1, 96-99.

Najwa El Farsi

Najwa worked as an assistant lecturer at the University of Benghazi in Libya after obtaining her BSc and MSc in Science from the same institution. She joined the group in 2015 to work on her PhD.

Degree(s): BSc Chemistry (Benghazi), MSc Chemistry (Benghazi)

Project: Asymmetric transformations using chiral anthracene templates

Joseph Ferner

After graduating in July 2015 from the University of Sheffield with a masters in chemistry with study in Europe, Joseph is currently studying for a PhD in the Department of Infection and Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease (IICD) in the Medical School at the University of Sheffield.

Joseph’s PhD is jointly funded by the Medical School and the Department of Chemistry, and is investigating a novel method of antimicrobial therapy. Joseph carries out research in a multidisciplinary capacity, comprising organic synthesis in the group of Professor Simon Jones and molecular biology with Dr Jon Shaw.

Degree: MChem Chemistry with Study in Europe (University of Sheffield)

Project: Novel antimicrobial therapy

Alex Fields

Having completed his MChem at the University of Sheffield, Alex is currently studying for a PhD and teaching at the University as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Alex is particularly interested in organic chemistry and is working to develop a route towards complex natural products which can be used to develop novel antimicrobial strategies in collaboration with the Shaw group.

Degree: MChem Chemistry (University of Sheffield)

Project: New antimicrobial strategies

Matt Foulkes

Matt graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2014 with a masters in chemistry with study in industry. As part of this, he spent a year working at GlaxoSmithKline on several ongoing drug discovery programmes, sparking his interest in medicinal chemistry.

Upon returning to Sheffield, he completed his masters project in the group of Dr David M Williams, investigating the synthesis of molecules for potential use in DNA sequencing. He is now working as a PhD student on a medicinal chemistry project in the groups of Professor Simon Jones and Professor Stephen Renshaw.

Degree: MChem Chemistry with study in industry (University of Sheffield)

Project: Novel anti-inflammatory compounds

Publications:

  • Expression and regulation of drug transporters in vertebrate neutrophils, M. J. Foulkes, K. M. Henry, J. Rougeot, E. Hooper-Greenhill, C. A. Loynes, P. Jeffrey, A. Fleming, C. Savage, A. H. Meijer, S. Jones, S. A. Renshaw, Sci. Rep., 2017, 7, 4967.

  • Identification of benzopyrone as a common structural feature in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity in a zebrafish phenotypic screen, A. L. Robertson, N. V. Ogryzko, K. M. Henry, C. A. Loynes, M. J. Foulkes, M. M. Meloni, X. Wang, C. Ford, M. Jackson, P. W. Ingham, H. L. Wilson, S. N. Farrow, R. Solari, R. J. Flower, S. Jones, M. K. B. Whyte, S. A. Renshaw, Dis. Model. Mech., 2016, 9, 621-632.

Haneesh Gangotra

Haneesh graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2012 with a MSci degree in Chemistry, completing his final year project under the supervision of Professor Neil Thomas towards synthesising anti-TB drug candidates.

He joined Evotec’s Discovery Chemistry department in 2013 and enjoyed over two years working in various therapeutic areas. This sparked his motivation to pursue a PhD, and he was awarded a GSA Florey Studentship in 2016 to develop chemical probes for understanding the biology of antibiotic resistance. His research is conducted between the groups of Professor Simon Jones (Chemistry) and Professor Simon Foster (Molecular biology).

Degree: MSci Chemistry (Nottingham)

Project: Novel chemical probes for antibiotic resistance

Dan Jenkinson

Dan received his MChem degree from the University of Sheffield, spending his third year at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Throughout his undergraduate studies he gained an interest in chemical synthesis and its various applications.

His masters project under Professor Nick Williams involved the synthesis of anti-inflammatory molecules and surface modification. He was then accepted onto the EPSRC Molecular Scale Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training and now works on the synthesis of organic fluorophores for super-resolution imaging.

Degree: MChem Chemistry with study in Australia (University of Sheffield)

Project: Synthesis of organic fluorophores for super-resolution microscopy

Publications:

  • The synthesis and photophysical analysis of a series of 4-nitrobenzochalcogenadiazoles for super-resolution microscopy, D. R. Jenkinson, A. J. Cadby and S. Jones, Chem. Eur. J., 2017, 23, 12585-12592.

  • Perimeter ring currents in benzenoids from Pauling bond orders, P. W. Fowler, W. Myrvold, D. Jenkinson, W. H. Bird, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 11756-11764.

  • Tuning the excited state of water-soluble Ir-based DNA intercalators that are isostructural with [Ru(NN)(dppz)] light-switch complexes, S. Stimpson, D. Jenkinson, A. Sadler, M. Latham, A. Wragg, A. J. H. Meijer, J. A. Thomas, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2015, 54, 3000-3003.

  • Equiaromatic benzenoids: Arbitrarily large sets of isomers with equal ring currents, P. W. Fowler, S. Cotton., D. Jenkinson, W. Myrvold, W. H. Bird, Chem. Phys. Lett., 2014, 597, 30-35.

Shuwen Ma

Shuwen received her BSc degree in 2015 from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology and the University of Reading jointly, spending three years in China and the fourth year in the UK. Following the completion of her BSc, Shuwen worked on her masters project under Dr Jonathan Sellars’ supervision, on the synthesis of novel anti-bacterial small molecules at Durham University.

She moved to Sheffield in 2016 and was awarded a CSC-Sheffield joint scholarship to develop chemical probes to investigate the molecular basis of antimicrobial resistance. Now she is working as a PhD student between the research groups of Professor Simon Jones and Professor Simon Foster.

Degree: BSc Applied Chemistry (Nanjing, China and Reading, UK)

Project: Chemical probes for antimicrobial resistance

Ali Hussein Raheemah

Ali did his masters degree at the University of Baghdad, Department of Chemistry in Iraq working with Dr A H Aldujaili from 1999 to 2002. He then worked as a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Al-Mustansiriya University during the period 2008–2013. In 2014, he joined the Jones group at the University of Sheffield to work on his doctorate.

Degree: MChem Chemistry with study in Iraq (Baghdad)

Project: Novel antimicrobial therapies

Publications:

  • Synthesis, characterization and study of the inhibitory effect of thiazole and thiadiazole derivatives towards the corrosion of copper in acidic media, I.H.R. Tomi, H.R. Al-Daraji, S.A. Aziz, Synth. React. Inorg., Met.-Org., Nano-Met. Chem., 45 (2015) 605-613.

  • Synthesis, characterization and biological activity of some azo derivatives of amino-thiadiazole derived from nicotinic and isonicotinic acids, I.H.R. Tomi, H.R. Al-Daraji, R.R.T. Al-Qaysi, M.M. Hasson, K.H.D. Al-Dulaimy, Arabian J. Chem., 7 (2014) 687-694.

  • Synthesis, characterization and comparative study the antibacterial activities of some imine-amoxicillin derivatives, I.H.R. Tomi, A.H. Abdullah, H.R. Al-Daraji, S. Abdul Rudha Abbass, Eur. J. Chem., 4 (2013) 153-156.

Jonathan Simmons

Jonathan joined the group in October 2013 after completing his MChem in which he completed a project with Professor Christopher Hunter. Jonathan has a keen interest in organic synthesis and is working on a viable route to asymmetric phosphorylation. As well as completing his PhD, he is a Graduate Teaching Assistant which involves demonstrating to undergraduates in the teaching laboratories.

Degree: MChem Chemistry (University of Sheffield)

Project: Asymmetric phosphorylation

Publications:

Examining the origin of selectivity in the reaction of racemic alcohols with chiral N-phosphoryl oxazolidinones, S. Crook, N. J. Parr, J. Simmons and S. Jones, Tetrahedron: Asymmetry, 2014, 25, 1298-1308.

Jenna Spencer-Briggs

Jenna graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2014, having been awarded the Brocklehurst Prize. Alongside her research, Jenna is a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA), which involves demonstrating to undergraduates in the teaching laboratories.

Degree: MChem Chemistry (University of Sheffield)

Project: Asymmetric reduction of maleimides and glutarimides

Zhen Zhao

Zhen joined the group as a PhD student in 2013, funded by the University of Sheffield 2022 Futures Scholarship. His research interests are focused on developing multi-functional probes to investigate biological issues (co-supervised by Professor Simon Foster).

Degree: Masters in Biophysics (South China Normal University)

Project: Cell wall chemistry