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Joanna Nominated for an NU Technicians Award

At the end of an exciting 2025, we were delighted to celebrate Dr Joanna Bonnici, Scientific Officer in the Kawamura Research Group, on being nominated for the NU Technician Contribution to Research Award. This nomination is a fantastic recognition of the significant impact that Joanna has across our chemical biology section at Newcastle University.  Joanna plays a central role in ensuring that our research environment operates at the highest possible standard. Her exceptional organisational skills, proactive leadership, and deep technical knowledge bring consistency, safety, and efficiency to every aspect of our laboratory work. From overseeing essential day‑to‑day lab operations and organising ice scraper amnesties, to contributing to our lab’s Gold LEAF certification and supporting the PhD students and Early Career Researchers in the MoSMed CDT, Joanna’s managerial skills help the entire team excel.  Being shortlisted… Read More »Joanna Nominated for an NU Technicians Award

Emma Wadforth Completes Her PhD Viva

We are delighted to celebrate a remarkable milestone in Emma Wadforth’s academic journey: she has successfully defended her PhD viva!  This achievement represents years of dedication, curiosity, and resilience. Emma’s PhD research, funded by ERC, focused on developing cyclic peptides against human neuraminidases.  We would also like to extend our thanks to Emma’s examiners, Prof Steven Cobb (Durham University) and Dr Céline Cano (Newcastle University), for their valuable time and engagement.   Wishing her every success in her new role at the Francis Crick Institute.   

Tim Bell Completes His PhD Viva

We’re delighted that Dr Tim Bell has successfully passed his PhD viva! An incredible milestone that reflects years of perseverance and hard work.    Tim worked on developing peptide-based tools to understand the chemokine network using high throughput peptide screening and biophysical methods, as part of his PhD funded by the BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership. Tim’s highly interdisciplinary project benefited from several collaborations, including learning cell-based assays with Prof. Shoumo Bhattacharya (University of Oxford), crystallography with Prof Ehmke Pohl (Durham University) and bioinformatics with Dr Simon Cockell (Newcastle University).  A heartfelt thank you to Tim’s examiners, Prof Simi Ali (Newcastle University) and Dr Michael Plevin (University of York), for their time and expertise during the examination.  Congratulations, Tim, on this incredible achievement!

Tom Smith Completes His PhD Viva

We’re thrilled to share the fantastic news that Dr Tom Smith has successfully completed his PhD viva! This achievement marks the culmination of years of dedication, perseverance, and hard work in the field of Chemical Biology.  Tom’s PhD involved a collaboration with Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company based in Denmark, which resulted in a published paper in RSC Chemical Biology.  A huge thank you to Tom’s examiners, Dr Tom McAllister (Newcastle University) and Dr Scott Lovell (University of Bath) for their time.   Congratulations Tom! 

Prof Clare Mahon Delivers Talk in the Inspiring Women in ChemBio Series

As part of the Inspiring Women in Chemical Biology seminar series, sponsored by the Biochemical Society, Newcastle University recently hosted Prof. Clare Mahon from Durham University, whose work is at the cutting edge of chemical biology and infectious disease diagnostics.  Clare’s talk, titled “Glycopolymer sensor arrays to detect pathoadaptations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” explored a critical issue in microbiology: the ability of bacterial pathogens to evolve and diversify within hosts, leading to persistent infections that are notoriously difficult to treat. The implications are profound. By mapping the progress of persistent infections and informing treatment strategies, Clare’s approach could underpin next-generation diagnostic tools for cystic fibrosis and beyond.  We are grateful to Clare for sharing her exciting research with the Chemical Biology teams & Chemistry at Newcastle University.        

Celebrating the Start of Faye’s PhD Journey

We’re thrilled that Faye Turnbull has officially begun her PhD journey as part of the Kawamura Research Group and the North-East England Doctoral Landscape (NEEDL) – a new Centre for Doctoral Training supported by UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).  Faye joins us after completing her Master’s in Chemistry at Newcastle University, bringing a strong foundation in chemical biology to her doctoral studies. We look forward to following Faye’s journey in protein hotspot mapping for protein–protein interaction studies – here’s to a new chapter in her research! 

Tom and Tim’s Next Chapter in Chemical Biology

We’re thrilled that Tom Smith and Tim Bell will be continuing their journey with us as Postdoctoral Research Associates working on cyclic peptide discover technology, following the end of the PhD Studies!  Over the last several years, Tom and Tim have been integral to our team – not only through their contributions to chemical biology research but also through the energy and enthusiasm they bring to our group culture. Their leadership in team-building activities, including last year’s Chemical Biology Christmas Symposium, has helped create a collaborative and vibrant environment that we’re proud of.  Here’s to more exciting research and many more moments of teamwork and celebration! 

Prof. Angela Russell’s Seminar at Newcastle

We were thrilled to welcome Professor Angela Russell from the University of Oxford to Newcastle University as part of our Inspiring Women in ChemBio seminar series, generously sponsored by the Biochemical Society.  Prof. Russell delivered an insightful talk titled: “Development of Next Generation Utrophin Modulators for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Learning from Clinical Setbacks.”  Her presentation explored the journey of developing small molecule drugs aimed at increasing utrophin levels in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) – a progressive muscle-wasting disorder with no current cure. She shared lessons learned from the clinical development of ezutromid, the first-in-class utrophin modulator, and how her team identified its mechanism of action through binding to… Read More »Prof. Angela Russell’s Seminar at Newcastle

Farewell to Emma & Kallie

This September, we said goodbye to two fantastic researchers. Dr. Emma Wadforth also completed her PhD in Chemical Biology, sponsored by the European Research Council (ERC), and is now heading to an exciting new role at The Francis Crick Institute.   Dr. Kallie Friston joined us as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate after completing her PhD at Newcastle University, aligned with the MoSMed CDT. Now Kallie is starting a new role in Medicinal Chemistry at Newcastle University.  Both Emma and Kallie were valued members of our team, and we wish them every success in their future endeavours and look forward to following their journeys! 

Lauren’s Summer Studentship

By Lauren Archer: I’ve had the opportunity to carry out a summer studentship in the Kawamura Research Group, and I’ve found it to be an incredibly rewarding experience. I’m really grateful to have been welcomed into such a supportive and collaborative team, where I’ve been able to develop both technically and professionally.  My current work focuses on the PHD finger domain of KDMs, a project that sits at the interface of chemistry and biology. Coming from a chemistry background, this area has been a steep learning curve, and has introduced me to a range of new chemical biology techniques, including protein purification and bacterial transformation.   Working in a multidisciplinary lab… Read More »Lauren’s Summer Studentship