RGS

Biography

Biography

I was appointed as a Lecturer in Chemistry at Keele in April 2008 and Senior Lecturer in April 2015.  I obtained my MChem degree in 2001 from the University of St Andrews and remained there for my PhD (2004) under the supervision of Prof. Russell Morris, thesis “Silsesquioxane Dendrimers as Catalysts: Synthesis and Molecular Modelling”.  I then moved to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and in 2006 was awarded a CIHR-RxD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Pharmacy working on “Dendrimers and Hyperbranched Polymers for the Delivery of Organometallic Anticancer Drugs”.  I was appointed as a KIITE curriculum design fellow in 2020 and a KIITE scholar in 2023.

I am a chemistry education researcher with interests in factors that influence student success such as conceptual understanding, workload and attitude to study.  I am part of a national group of STEMM focused academics who run workshops on decolonising science. My educational scholarship publications span a decade and include work on feedback in various formats, outreach with museums, and the role of technology such as lecture capture and assessment of presentation skills using screencasts. I was awarded the 2020 Green Gowns award, Staff Sustainability Champion category for my work on our Sustainable Chemistry module and work within the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences to promote sustainability across all activities.

School address

Lennard-Jones School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Lennard-Jones Building
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG, UK
Phone (School Office): +44 (0)1782 733033, (Chemistry): +44 (0)1782 731693, (Forensic Science): +44 (0)1782 731694, (Physics): +44 (0)1782 733527
Email: scps@keele.ac.uk

Information for schools and colleges

Contact us about our workshops and lecture series

Programme directors

Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry
Dr Tess Phillips
Tel : +44 (0)1782 733038
Email : t.r.phillips@keele.ac.uk

Dr Chris Hawes
Tel : +44 (0)1782 732820
Email : c.s.hawes@keele.ac.uk

Forensic Science and Criminology
Dr Jamie K. Pringle
Tel : +44 (0)1782 733163
Email : j.k.pringle@keele.ac.uk

Victoria Cartwright
Tel: +44 (0)1782733584
Email: v.cartwright@keele.ac.uk

Physics and Astrophysics
Dr Barry Smalley and Dr Joana Oliveira
Email : b.smalley@keele.ac.ukj.oliveira@keele.ac.uk

Admission tutors

Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry
Dr Natalie Capel
Tel : +44 (0)1782 733584
Email : n.j.capel@keele.ac.uk

Forensic Science
Sue Shemilt
Email: s.shemilt@keele.ac.uk

Physics and Astrophysics
Dr Juliana Morbec
Email : physics@keele.ac.uk or j.morbec@keele.ac.uk