Dr Edward Hems

Edward has a background in carbohydrate chemistry and is currently a Research Assistant in the Molecular Microbiology department.

Edward’s first project was synthesising analogues of antimicrobial compounds derived from leafcutter ant nests in Professor Barrie Wilkinson’s group

Research in the Barrie Wilkinson group has led to the discovery of a new class of putative antimicrobial compounds produced Escovopsis weberi. Edward has chemically synthesising these newly discovered Escovopsis weberi metabolites and analogues thereof to explore their toxicology and antimicrobial activities.

Edward is now working for Dr Andrew Truman on a project which seeks to expand the utility of the antibiotic bicyclomycin (BCM) for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative infections. His research is focused around substrate synthesis and improved BCM production.