Prof Helen Hailes

 

Prof Helen Hailes

 

h.c.hailes@ucl.ac.uk

 

Appointment

• Professor of Chemical Biology
• Dept of Chemistry
• Faculty of Maths & Physical Sciences

  

 

Research Groups

• Industrial Biotechnology (BiCE)
• Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME)
• Institute of Structural & Molecular Biology, UCL/Birkbeck
• UCL Centre for Chemical Biology

Research Themes

• Synthetic Biology

 

Research Summary

Research activity in our group is focused on the use of synthetic organic chemistry to probe and solve biological problems. Current projects include the use of water as a reaction solvent and the use of catalytic and biocatalytic synthetic strategies. Also novel kinase inhibitors, cytosine-based hydrogen-bonding polymers and new lipid design for use in a ternary gene delivery vector.

Academic Background

1991	PhD	Doctor of Philosophy – Organic Chemistry	University of Cambridge
1987	BA	Bachelor of Arts – Chemistry and Metallurgy	University of Cambridge

 

publications..total 146

https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=HCHAI24

9 Research Activities

Status

 

• BiCE

   

   
• Calixarenes and Tuberculosis Therapies

  Active

   
• Chemoenzymatic and Biocatalytic Synthesis of Aminodiols (BiCE Project)

  Active

   
• Design and Synthesis of Novel Hydrogen Bonding Arrays

  Active

   
• Non-Viral Gene Therapy

  Active

   
• Organic Synthesis in Water

  Active

   
• Synthetic Biology

  Active

   
• The Synthesis of Novel Signaling Molecules

  Active

   
• The synthesis of PI 3-kinase and PKB activators and inhibitors

  Active

  
  

  One-pot triangular chemoenzymatic cascades for the syntheses of chiral alkaloids from dopamine

   

  

  Green Chem., 2015, 17,852-855
  DOI: 10.1039/C4GC02325K, Communication

  
  

  B. R. Lichman,a   E. D. Lamming,b   T. Pesnot,b   J. M. Smith,a  H. C. Hailes*b and   J. M. Ward*a  

   

  *Corresponding authors

  aDepartment of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Bernard Katz Building, Gordon Street, London, UK 

  E-mail: j.ward@ucl.ac.uk

  bDepartment of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher-Ingold Building, 20 Gordon Street, London, UK 

  E-mail: h.c.hailes@ucl.ac.uk

  Green Chem., 2015,17, 852-855

  
  DOI: 10.1039/C4GC02325K

  http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/GC/C4GC02325K?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2FGC+%28RSC+-+Green+Chem.+latest+articles%29#!divAbstract

  http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2015/gc/c4gc02325k

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  	Scheme 1 Overview of the biocatalytic and non-enzymatic cascades presented in this work, including the ‘triangular’ cascade.

  

  
  

  

  
  

  	Scheme 2 One-pot chemoenzymatic synthesis of (S)-4 and (S)-5. Reaction conditions: (a) 20 mM 2, 10 mM sodium pyruvate, 500 μg mL−1 NCS and 20% v.v−1 CV2025 lysate, 50 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 37 °C, 3 h. (b) 40 mM formaldehyde, 1 M sodium phosphate, pH 6, 30 min, 37 °C.

  UCL LONDON

 

Prof Helen Hailes