Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

The Jones research group has been funded by BISCA, the Wellcome Trust (UK), CRISM Therapeutics/Imphatec Ltd (Industry UK/Ireland), Medical Research Council (UK), the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), CAPES (Brazil), Bolashak Foundation (Kazakhstan), LPDP (Indonesia), EJSP (Saudi Arabia), UNESP (Brazil), Erasmus+ mobility programme (EU), British Council (UK Govt), Science without Borders (Brazil), the Government of Botswana (Botswana), the Royal Society (London), King Khalid University (Saudi Arabia), and University of Birmingham amongst others. He was awarded alongside his collaborators (Wilkinson and Alexander) the Healthcare Science Excellence Prize in 2016. During his career he has published over 75+ research papers, 3 patents, and 2 book chapters.

The main theme of the multi-disciplinary research in the group is the development of underpinning science that pushes the boundaries of the chemical sciences within drug discovery. Prominent topics of research include:
1) electrosynthesis of drug metabolites including the late-stage modification of small molecules and peptides;
2) novel synthetic routes to sulfated bioactive molecules and peptides;
3) drug discovery projects including the small molecule allosteric inhibition of EAAT1 for T-ALL, design of novel EGFR/HER2 inhibitors for oncology, AI in drug development, and a glycomimetic platform for HGF-cMET modulation for cardiovascular indications; and 4) polypharmacology as a determinant of adverse drug reactions and drug toxicity in real-world settings.

PhD student enquires are welcome:

[1] Polypharmacology and Side Effects of Drugs, see: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/pharmacovigilance-and-polypharmacology-identification-of-differential-side-effects-within-drug-classes-and-links-to-their-unique-modes-of-action/?p171337

[2] Electrochemical synthesis of Drug Metabolites, see: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/drug-metabolism-prediction-detection-and-isolation/?p171338

[3] Targeting amino-acid transporters for treatment of cancer and neurological disorders (co-I with Dr Felix Chan), see: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/targeting-amino-acid-transporters-for-treatment-of-cancer-and-neurological-disorders/?p181764