Alexander R Norman 13th Australian Peptide Conference 2019

Alexander R Norman

Alex completed his undergraduate degree in 2014 at the University of Sheffield, UK, under the tutelage of Prof. Iain Coldham focussing on the development of a one-pot multi-step cascade reaction to generate complex tricyclic frameworks of biologically relevant natural products. Alex then moved to the University of Sydney to conduct his PhD under the supervision of A/Prof. Chris McErlean. This led to a shift in focus to the development of novel methods for the generation of useful, high-energy radical intermediates under mild photocatalytic conditions to explore the synthesis of interesting small-molecule therapeutics. In 2019, Alex took up a postdoctoral position in the Payne Research Group at the University of Sydney where he applied his knowledge of organic chemistry to the synthesis of complex peptides and proteins. Recent efforts have focussed on the development of peptide libraries to target proteins implicated in a variety of oncogenic biological mechanisms, developing high affinity ligands for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, as well as exploring new and exciting methods for the site selective modification of expressed proteins. Alex is currently leading the peptide and protein synthesis arm of the Payne Research Laboratory supporting a team pursuing a vast array of biological targets.