Subject Chair:
Prof. Geoff Cloke
Research in Chemistry spans the traditional areas of inorganic, organic and physical Chemistry as well as more interdisciplinary activities including bioinorganic, and materials chemistry, and nanoscience. Historical strengths in molecular synthesis, computational chemistry and chemical physics have led to the emergence of two main research topics:
Translational Drug Discovery
Medicinal Chemistry, which has organic synthesis at its core, includes strong links with biochemistry and molecular biology, the Genome Damage and Stability Centre and Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Drug design, synthesis and delivery are key goals in this area.
Energy and Materials Chemistry
Clean fuels and energy seeks functional solutions to the correlated problems of peak oil and carbon emissions. Research towards this goal is focused on inorganic synthesis and small molecule activation, materials modelling and nanostructure fabrication.
The research areas build on the success of the last national research assessment exercise which rated more than 60% of the Chemistry research activity as being world-leading or internationally excellent.
Key to many of the research activities are the excellent facilities provided within Chemistry including a fully equipped NMR suite, a Mass Spectrometry Centre, small molecule and protein X-ray crystallography, nano-labs with scanning tunnelling, electron and atomic force microscopy facilities and a laser-lab supporting ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and single molecule optical microscopy.
Research in Chemistry is funded by Grants from the EPSRC, the European Research Council, the EU Marie Curie Scheme, the Leverhulme Trust, the Royal Society, and Industry.
Principal investigators and labs
Dr Alaa Abdul-Sada
Nano technology applications in Metabolomic human health and environmental applications.
For more information visit the Abdul-Sada Lab website.
Professor Mark Bagley
Our research interests span the breadth of heterocyclic chemistry, developing new methods for the synthesis of heteroaromatic compounds of biological interest and new properties for heterocyclic drugs and natural products.
For more information visit the Bagley Lab website
Dr Qiao Chen
Application of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology.
For more information visit the Chen Lab website.
Dr Hazel Cox
Computational/Theoretical Inorganic Chemistry:
Structure, Reactivity and Spectroscopy of Multiply Charged Metal-Ligand Complexes.
For more information visit the Cox Lab website.
Dr Ian Crossley
Research in the Crossley lab falls broadly under the umbrella of organometallic chemistry and is primarily concerned with the development and study of electronically distinctive molecules at the transition metal / main group interface.
For more information visit the Crossley Lab website.
Professor Geoff Cloke FRS
The Cloke group conducts research the field of synthetic organometallic chemistry, with particular focus on transition metal and f-element complexes, and small molecule activation and functionalisation via reductive transformations.
For more information visit the Cloke Lab website.
Dr Iain Day
Research in the Day laboratory focuses on the development and application of magnetic resonance methods to probe molecular association and aggregation processes.
For more information visit the Day Lab website.
Dr Oscar Navarro
Our reseach focuses on the design and synthesis of organometallic complexes of transition metals and their application as catalysts in organic reactions and polymerizations. We have a special interest in highly efficient catalytic multicomponent reactions and the synthesis of conjugated polymers with potential applications in electronic devices. For more information about who we are and what we do, click on the tabs above.
For more information visit the Navarro Lab website.
Dr Mark Osborne
Research in our lab focuses on the development and application of ultra-sensitive optical techniques for the detection and manipulation of single molecules.
For more information visit the Osborne Lab website.
Dr John Spencer
The Spencer group conducts research on the interface of chemistry and medicinal chemistry, making use of transition metal catalysis and microwave-mediated synthesis where possible.
For more information visit the Spencer Lab website
Dr John Turner
Research in the Turner laboratory covers two broad themes:
- Discovery of new forms of matter with concommitant exploration of their properties, reactivity and applications
- Developing a deeper understanding of strongly correlated many body systems through advanced diffraction techniques and analysis
For more information visit the Turner Lab website
Dr Eddy Viseux
Research in the Viseux group is currently focussing on the development of strategies for the synthesis of complex natural products with interesting biological properties.
For more information visit the Viseux Lab website.
Professor Simon Ward
As part of a major new strategic investment within the School of Life Sciences we are establishing a Translational Drug Discovery Group comprising medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology laboratories. This group will play a key role in the School's translational research strategy, creating a vibrant collaboration across the chemical, biological and clinical sciences to translate the fundamental research discoveries within the University into potential new medicines.
For more information visit the Translational Drug Discovery Group website.