People
Meet the academic staff and students who have done research in organic synthesis.
Academic staff
I am a native Wellingtonian and completed my Bachelor of Science with Honours (First Class) in 1995 at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
After short term positions at ESR and Industrial Research Ltd, I undertook PhD studies at the Australian National University under the supervision of Professor Martin Banwell in the area of cyclopropane chemistry (1997–2000). I was subsequently awarded an Anglo-Australian Fellowship (2001–2002) and then a Ramsey Memorial Post-doctoral Fellowship (2002–2004) at the University of York, working with Professor Richard Taylor.
In 2004 I returned to Victoria University of Wellington as an academic. My research interests cover natural product-inspired drug discovery, synthesis of natural products and their analogues, especially macrolactone target compounds, applications of cyclopropyl carbohydrates, organometallic catalysed reactions in synthesis and structure-based drug design.
I also enjoy collaborating on projects where my synthesis expertise can be used to solve challenges, and thus have become involved in other areas.
Several of my research projects are done in collaboration with other investigators in the VUW Centre for Biodiscovery.
Associate Dean - Academic (Programme Development)
Wellington Faculty of Science
Associate Dean, Postgraduate Research
Wellington Faculty of Science
Current students
PhD students
- Xu Tao (collaboration with Paul Teesdale-Spittle)
- Jordan McCone
- Ethan Woolly (collaboration with Paul Teesdale-Spittle)
- Ben Clarke (collaboration with Simon Hinkley)
Masters students
- Tom Bird
- Tim Sirrett
Interns
- Katie Fraine (MChem student, York; collaboration with Rob Keyzers)
- Daniel Powell (MChem student, York)
Previous group members
PhD students
- 2014–2018: Amira Brackovic (co-supervised by Peter Tyler), “Large Scale Synthesis of Peloruside A and Analogues” (now at Ferrier Research Institute).
- 2014–2018: Sophie Geyrhofer, “Synthesis of New Analogues of Zampanolide” (now at MedSafe NZ).
- 2011–2016: Thomas Bevan, “Azulene-based Protecting Groups”.
- 2011–2016: Jingjing Wang, “Studies on the Synthesis of Marine Natural Product (-)-Zampanolide and its Analogues” (now at New Zealand Pharmaceuticals).
- 2011–2014: Kalpani Somarathne, “Synthesis of Highly Functionalised Furo[3,4-b]pyrans: Towards the Fungal Metabolite TAN-2483B” (now at Royal Society of NZ, Wellington).
- 2010–2013: Mark Bartlett, “Transition Metal Catalyzed Linchpin-Based Strategies in Natural Product Synthesis: Synthesis of Asteriscunolide D, Aspergillide B and the Core of Labillarides E-H” (now at Gilead Pharmaceuticals).
- 2009–2014: Hemi Cumming (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Design and Synthesis of Simplified Analogues of Pateamine A” (now at Plant and Food Research).
- 2006–2010: Russell Hewitt, “Investigations of Ring-Opening Reactions of Cyclopropanated Carbohydrates: Towards the Synthesis of the Natural Product (-)-TAN-2483B” (now at ICES, Singapore).
- 2005–2008: Lynton Baird, “The Total Synthesis of Aigialomycin D and Analogues” (now teaching).
- 2004–2007: Emma Turner (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Design and Synthesis of Hybrid Peloruside A-Laulimalide Analogues” (now at University of Bristol, UK).
- 2003–2007: Shivali Gulab (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “An Aldol Approach Towards the Synthesis of Peloruside A and Analogues Thereof” (now at Avalia/Callaghan Innovation).
Masters students
- 2018–2019: Oliver Bayley (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Synthesis of Novel Pyran Fragments to Incorporate into Peloruside Analogues”.
- 2018–2019: Matthew Hooker (co-supervised by Rob Keyzers), “Analogues of 4-Cyclopentene-1,3-dione as Potential Antifungals”.
- 2018–2019: Daniela Butterfield (co-supervised by Anne La Flamme), “Immunology of TAN-2483B Analogues”.
- 2017–2018: Phoebe Harmos (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Synthesis and growth inhibition studies of mycothiol analogues”.
- 2016–2017: Hedley Stirrat, “Synthesis of Lactam Analogues of TAN-2483B” (now at AgResearch).
- 2016–2017: Ashton Asbury (co-supervised by Rob Keyzers), “Synthesis of Rimarikiamide” (now at Regal Manufacturing Ltd).
- 2016–2017: Will Duynhoven, “Synthesis of Deuterated Peloruside A for Pharmacology Studies on the Blood-Brain Barrier”.
- 2015–2017: Matthew Fisk, “Synthesis of Heterocycles by a Pd-Catalysed Allylic Substitution Cascade” (now a PhD student at VUW).
- 2015–2017: Daniel Phipps, “Toward the Synthesis of the Fungal Metabolite (-)-TAN-2483B”.
- 2014–2015: Loïc Lassueur (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Identifying the Mechanism of Action of Bioactive 1,2-Cyclopropyl Carbohydrates”.
- 2014–2016: Sarah Brown (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Design and Synthesis of a Highly Simplified Pateamine Analogue”.
- 2011–2013: Claire Turner, “Studies on the Mechanism of Furopyran Formation using Pd-Catalysed Allylic Bis-alkylation Reactions” (now at MoE).
- 2011–2013: Scott Riordan (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Synthesis of a Mycothiol Analogue for Targetting Tuberculosis”.
- 2011–2013: Dylan Davies (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Synthesis and Action of Fluorescently Labelled Probes for Cellular Proteins”.
- 2010–2012: Peter Moore, “Synthesis of 2-C-Branched Sugars” (did PhD at University of Queensland, now a post-doc at University of Alabama, USA).
- 2010–2012: Xuyu Liu (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Mechanistic investigation of 1,5-anti stereoinduction in aldol reactions” (now a PhD student at University of Sydney).
- 2008–2010: Sam Ting, “The Synthesis of Aigialomycin D Analogues” (now at IPONZ).
- 2008–2010: Febly Tho (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Towards the Synthesis of Hybrid Peloruside A and Laulimalide Analogues”.
Honours and PGDipSc students
- 2017: Paris Watson, “Approaches to TAN-2483B lactam analogues” (now a PhD student at University of Pennsylvania, USA, Fulbright Scholar).
- 2015: Ben Durrant, “Synthesis of Risperidone Analogues”.
- 2013: Stephen Tat, “Exploring the Scope of Palladium-Catalysed Allylic Substitution Cascades with Non-symmetric Dihydropyran Bis-Electrophiles”.
- 2011: Claudia Gray, “Synthesis of Side-Chain Variants of Zampanolide”.
- 2009: Jack Anderson (co-supervised by Andrew Kay), “Zwitterionic Organic non-Linear Optical Chromophores with Modified Acceptor Groups”.
- 2008: AnitaCorderoy, “Developing New C-Disaccharides”.
- 2008: Shi Lei (co-supervised by Andrew Kay), “Chromophores Synthesis”.
- 2006: Caitlin Patchett(co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Towards a Pro-Drug for the Treatment of Tuberculosis”.
- 2006: Emma Marie Smith (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Synthesis of a New Diester Variant of Peloruside A”.
- 2006: Milana Malivuk (co-supervised by Paul Teesdale-Spittle), “Formation of New Affinity Chromatography Matrices for Purification of GSTs from Lucilia cuprina”.
- 2005: Birthe Kortner, “The Development of Novel C-Disaccharides”.
- 2005: Russell Hewitt, “π-Allyl Cation cyclisations from a gem Dihalocyclopropane Precursor: Towards the Development of a Catalytic Enantioselective Process”.