Ed Ledingham
Scientist
Ferrier Research Institute
Dr Ed Ledingham joined Professor Peter Tyler’s lab as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in May 2019, where is working on the research and development of enzyme transition state inhibitors, with potential antibacterial, antiviral and antimalarial therapeutic uses.
Before making the move to Wellington and the Ferrier Research Institute, Ed completed his BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Honours and PhD in organic synthetic chemistry at the University of New England in Armidale.
“My PhD research looked at derivatising levoglucosenone, produced from acid-catalysed pyrolysis of cellulose, with the goal of establishing levoglucosenone as a useful, bio-renewable starting material for the synthesis of bioactive compounds, and so reducing dependency on crude oil-derived starting materials.
“Before that, my honour’s year research involved synthesis of hybrid drugs for the treatment of subarachnoid haemorrhage—a type of stroke.”
A carbohydrate chemist now, Ed nearly ended up on a career path working with carbohydrates in another form: “Originally, I wanted to become a chef, but then I discovered the (relatively) slower, more thoughtful pace of a lab compared to a kitchen and decided organic chemistry was for me.”
Publications
View Ed's publications on ResearchGate.