Chemistry for the Future: Human Health Oxford University

Wrapping up this series on human health, Dr Emily Flashman talks about her work studying the mechanisms by which our bodies respond to low levels of oxygen. She discusses why she finds the interface of chemistry and human health an exciting and rewarding area of research.

The mutant enzymes that cause disease in our bodies can be combated by chemical inhibitors if we understand how these molecules are interacting. Dr Ivanhoe Leung shows how Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) can be used to study enzymes in three critical ways.

Being a chemist doesn't have to mean giving up on biology and physics. Dr Mark Wallace and postdoc Dr Matt Baker use lasers, fluorescent tagging, and other interdisciplinary techniques to study cell membrane interactions and better understand their function in infection and disease.

Chemicals found in nature can have incredibly useful functionality, including anti-malarial and anti-cancer properties. However, they are usually found in small amounts. Chris Jones, a DPhil student in the Donohoe Group, is synthesizing naturally occurring molecules in the lab so they can be used as drugs on a larger scale.

Using 3D printed molecules, Rok Sekirnik, a DPhil student in the emerging field of chemical biology, shows how protein structures can be determined in some of the Department's most distinctive looking labs.

At the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine, Cyrille Thinnes, a DPhil student in the Schofield Group, shares his research into the next generation of anti-cancer treatments.