Professional Background:

Hi, my name is Alex. I completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Auckland in 2020, majoring in medicinal chemistry. I then went on to complete my Honours in chemistry with Dist. Prof. Margaret Brimble and Assoc. Prof. Daniel Furkert. My project focus centred on a Diels-Alder reaction to construct a spiroimine fragment towards the total synthesis of the natural product portimine A. After my Honours, I completed a Master of Science with Assoc. Prof. Cameron Weber in 2024. This project explored an ionic liquid based, metal-free system to effect glucose dehydration into a versatile platform chemical known as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

Research Interests:

Currently, I am doing my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Louis Rendina at the University of Sydney, starting in March 2026. In this project, I am investigating the use of boronic acid and esters to elucidate their phosphomimetic and/or covalent interactions with the pancreatic cancer signaling protein, STAT3. In tandem to this structure-activity relationship work, I am also carrying out a fragment-based approach to identify privileged boron-containing pharmacophores, employing biophysical screening techniques such as SPR, NMR, and X-ray crystallography.