The Conway Group
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Antoine completed his PhD at the University of Geneva under the supervision of Prof. Jerome Lacour, developing and applying tunable dyes and fluorophores such as the first pH-sensitive fluorophore selective to late endosomes (a major trafficking hub in the cell at the crossroads between endocytosis, autophagy, and degradation in lysosomes). He then moved to the FMP in Berlin for a first post-doctoral stay in the groups of Prof. Christian Hackenberger and Dr. Fan Liu. There he established novel chemical tools including, intracellularly cleavable cell-penetrating peptides for the targeted delivery of functional proteins and, the first enrichable and MS-cleavable cross-linkers for the study of protein interactomes and conformations in solution, using cross-linking-MS. He joined the redOx⇌KCL team and is currently developing fluorogenic probes to image cellular REDOX components with a particular interest in hypoxia and REDOX enzymes.
DR GLEN BRODIE
In 2021, Glen joined the Conway group to take up the challenge of synthesising phosphatidylinositol 5 phosphate (PI5P) derivatives to help investigate the role of PI5Ps in DNA methylation. Before making the move to Oxford, Glen completed his PhD at the University of Glasgow under the supervision of Dr David France where his thesis focussed on targeted protein degradation in bacteria. While writing his thesis, he took up a PDRA position with Dr Emily Draper, scaling up and optimising the synthesis of naphthalene diimides. Prior to his PhD studies, Glen obtained his MChem degree from the University of Aberdeen.
DR MARTA SERAFINI
Marta joined the Conway group in 2021 to continue her postdoctoral studies with a fellowship funded by AIRC (Italian Cancer Research Association). Before moving to Oxford, Marta received her MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology in 2015 and her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry in 2020 from the Università del Piemonte Orientale (Novara, Italy) under the supervision of Prof. Tracey Pirali. Her research interests focus on BRD4-targeting hypoxia activated prodrugs
DPHIL STUDENTS
Katrina received a MSci degree in ‘Medicinal and Biological Chemistry with an Assessed Year in Industry’ from The University of Nottingham in 2017. Her industrial placement was spent working in combinatorial chemistry at Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Switzerland. She conducted her Master’s project at The University of Nottingham under the supervision of Dr Nicholas Mitchell, investigating the chemical synthesis of a palmitoylated peptide as a potential cancer vaccine. After graduating, Katrina returned to Switzerland to work in Hit to Lead optimisation at Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd., before joining the ‘Oxford GSK Crick Chemical Biology’ CDT in September 2018. For her DPhil project, Katrina is working towards the design and synthesis of selective chemical probes for the transcriptional coactivators CREBBP and p300.
Patrick is a DPhil student on the Synthetic Biology Doctoral Training Programme, working under the supervision of Professor Stuart Conway and Professor Charlotte Deane. His research concerns the computational design and chemical synthesis of small molecules probes for orthogonal degradation of bespoke protein targets. Patrick graduated with a first class honours MSci in biology and chemistry from Durham University in 2016, completing his Masters thesis under the supervision of Dr John Bothwell and Professor Lian Hutchings. Before starting at Oxford, Patrick spent a year at the University of Salford, where he graduated with a Masters in Music Performance. Patrick is currently the John Brookman Music Scholar at Wadham College, Oxford.
Jennifer joined the Conway group as a DPhil student in October 2019. She is currently working on the development of small molecule probes to investigate the role of epigenetics in the Leishmania parasite life cycle. Prior to this, Jennifer completed her MSci in Chemistry with Industrial Experience at the University of Bristol. Her Master’s project was under the supervision of Prof. Jonathan Clayden, optimising methodology and exploring substrate scope in the synthesis of cyclofunctionalised α-amino acid derivatives. As part of her degree, she also undertook an industrial placement year in the medicinal chemistry department at F. Hoffman-La Roche (Basel, Switzerland). In her spare time Jennifer is an avid triathlete and enjoys spending time outdoors.
BERNADETTE LEE
Bernie is a rotation student under the Synthesis for Biology and Medicine Centre for Doctoral Training. She completed her undergraduate studies in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where she carried out her final year project on the ion-pair directed regioselective borylation of phosphonium salts with Dr Robert Phipps.
SOPHIE TWIGGER
Sophie is an Oncology DPhil student on the MRC-Oxford Doctoral Training Partnership. She joined the University of Oxford in October 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Ester Hammond and Prof. Stuart Conway. Her project is focused on the synthesis and validation of novel fluorescent probes to investigate the redox environment of cells undergoing cycling oxygen levels. Sophies research interests lie at the interface between the biological and chemical world and she has a keen interest in cancer research. In her spare time, she enjoys climbing, running, spending time with friends and a good television series.
HARRIET HAYSOM
Harriet is a DPhil student on the Chemistry in Cells programme joint supervised by Professor Stuart Conway and Professor Katja Simon. She joined the Conway group in January 2021 and is currently working on the design and synthesis of small molecules to promote the degradation of clinically relevant targets. Harriet completed her MSci and BA in Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, specialising in chemistry in third and fourth year. Her masters project focussed on fragment-based drug discovery in Professor Chris Abell’s group. In her spare time, Harriet is a keen trombonist.
OLIVER STRATTON
Oliver is a student on the Chemistry in Cells DPhil programme at the University of Oxford. Prior to this, he received an MChem from Merton College, Oxford in 2019. Oliver joined group for his Part II research project, synthesising proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) to recruit a novel E3 ligase. Oliver’s current research focusses on developing bifunctional molecules beyond PROTACs.
ALISTAIR BOYD
Alistair joined the group in 2020, and is a DPhil student on the Synthesis for Biology and Medicine Centre for Doctoral Training. His work centers around the synthesis of selective macrocyclic ligands for the bromodomains of the CREBBP and p300 proteins. Prior to joining the group he graduated from the University of York with an MChem with a year in industry which he completed at BMS. During this time he completed his masters which centered around the development of methods using FT-IR spectrometry for the quantitative analysis of low level impurities within pharmaceutical intermediates.
MICHAEL PLATT
Michael is a DPhil student on the Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP and his current work focuses on the synthesis of methylated lysine analogues for investigating the PHD fingers of TRIM proteins. Prior to his DPhil studies, Michael graduated with a first-class honours MChem in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. He joined the group in 2019 for his Part II research project. In his spare time, Michael is a keen badminton player and is involved with running the university badminton club sessions.
KEEFE OEI
Keefe received his BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 2020, specialising in chemistry in his last year. After graduating, he completed a placement at the Experimental Drug Development Centre (A*STAR) in Singapore, where he worked on medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. He is currently an associate student in the Chemistry and Cells programme. Apart from chemistry, he has a keen interest in food and wine.
CERI FOSTER
Ceri is a DPhil student on the Inorganic Chemistry for Future Manufacturing CDT, joint supervised by Professor Stuart Conway and Professor Steve Faulkner. She graduated from the University of Durham in 2021 with an MChem with Industrial Experience, having completed her final year working at Lubrizol in Derbyshire developing additives for engine oils. Her interests span across organic and inorganic synthesis for biological applications, with her project focusing on the synthesis of organic and inorganic azide complexes activated under hypoxia or by X-rays for cancer imaging and therapeutics. Outside of the lab, she spends her time watching tennis and athletics, going to concerts and volunteering as a Brownie leader.
ADA LIEBENAU
Ada is a DPhil rotation student on the Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Programme. She graduated with a first class honours MSci degree in Chemistry from UCL in 2020 and worked at the UCL Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research before joining Oxford. Ada’s rotation project is based around synthesis of chemical tools to study protein degradation, co-supervised by Dr Jelena Bezbradica Mirkovic. In her spare time Ada competes with the Oxford University Contemporary Dance team in a variety of styles.
GROUP ADMINISTRATION
Tracey joined the Conway group as Programme Manager to the EPSRC redOx⇌KCL and the Wellcome Trust Chemistry in Cells DPhil programmes in January 2020. Previously she was programme manager for OxStem-funded research programmes in the labs of Professor Angela Russell. Tracey joined the Department of Chemistry in 2013 as a project manager/administrator for the European-FP7-funded Innovative Doctoral Programme (IDP) entitled 'Oxford Innovative Organic Synthesis for Cancer Research (OxIOSCR)' with Professors Jeremy Robertson, Angela Russell, Tim Donohoe and David Hodgson. Previously she worked as a business planning consultant for new and young businesses and had established Communities in Business Ltd to deliver business education and training and to support community enterprises. Tracey completed her PhD in 2003 under the supervision of Professor Susan Brooks at Oxford Brookes University to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the aberrant synthesis of N-acetyl-galactosaminylated glycoproteins in metastatic breast cancer cells.
KATE OGILVY
Kate joined Stuart's team in September 2020 and alongside supporting him as his PA, is responsible for the day to day administration of the Conway Group, the Wellcome Trust Chemistry in Cells DPhil programme and the EPSRC redOx⇌KCL programme grant. Prior to joining the Department of Chemistry, Kate worked at the Oxford Internet Institute as Professor Helen Margetts OBE’s Executive Assistant. Prior to that she was the Practice Manager at Figure Ground Consulting for 13 years. She has a degree in Art History and Anthropology from Oxford Brookes University.