Biography
I received my BSc (Hons) in medicinal chemistry and PhD in carbohydrate chemistry from the university of Dundee before I carried out postdoctoral research into TB at the University of St Andrews, the University of Arkansas Little Rock campus and the University of Newcastle, before arriving at the university of Oxford where I started as the organic teaching coordinator in 2001. Up until May 2025 I was the director of the chemistry teaching lab. After a restructure I have become an a level chemistry teacher. I have been an organic chemistry tutor at St Hugh since 2001.
Research
My main research focus has been to make practical chemistry more effective, as well as more inclusive. The key publications are “A Formula for Inclusion : Dyslexia-informed universal design of chemistry laboratories “ https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01544 and “developing a skills-based practical chemistry programme : an integrated, spiral curriculum approach” https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/cti-2022-0003/html. I have also led the sector in creating professional learning networks to ensure the impact of this work is shared widely. This was especially true during the pandemic. “#Dtylabs20: A new global collaborative network to consider and address the challenges of Laboratory teaching with the challenges of COVID-19 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00884
Publications
I have co-authored a transition to university revision guide and was the science advisor for the Osbourme “lift the flap” periodic table book.
