Prestigious UK prize for Strathclyde chemistry student

13 March 09

A student at the University of Strathclyde has earned one of the UK's most prestigious prizes in chemistry for his innovative research, which could open the door to new forms of medical treatment.

Allan McPherson, from Greenock, who is in the final year of his Chemistry PhD, has been named as the outright winner of the Pfizer Prize, against intense competition from more than 120 competitors.

Contenders for the prize must be of the highest quality to be submitted and the winner has to meet a stringent set of criteria. Allan impressed the panel of judges with his ideas for devising new lab-based methods to prepare inaccessible natural compounds which could have the potential to be used in treatments for cancer, infectious illnesses, and harmful bacteria.

He was chosen as the winner from a final shortlist of 30, all of whom made a presentation at the Pfizer Poster Chemistry Symposium at the Royal Society in London.

Allan said:

"I'm honoured to have won such a high-profile award. To have been declared the winner against such a high calibre of competition is a great accolade."

"The enthusiasm I displayed for my research and the communication of the key concepts were key components of the feedback I received from the judges. When coupled with the level of our scientific developments, these played a major role in me winning the prize."

Allan's supervisor, Professor Billy Kerr, of Strathclyde's Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, said:

"Allan has won the most prestigious and high-profile annual award of its type for PhD students in Organic Chemistry. Just being shortlisted for the prize is an achievement in itself; this award is contested by scientists at the very top of their game."

Allan's research focuses on the development of new chemical reagents and catalytic methods. These would allow products to be prepared, in labs, with the potential to be used in a range of medicinal areas.

A range of molecules have been extracted from a fungus, known as Agaricus blazei. Certain molecules from this natural source are known to have a series of biological properties but scientists have not been able to access specific examples of them in large enough amounts to test their potential. Allan's techniques, however, could be the key to their preparation and use in medicine.

Allan said:

"We're always trying to advance Organic Chemistry as a discipline. We're at the forefront of developing new methodology which allows medicinally-active molecules to be made more efficiently or cost-effectively.

"Many of the various molecules within the fungus haven't been accessible before. With some, even if they could be isolated, they wouldn't be accessible on any useful scale. Things in nature usually don't exist without a reason. They play a part in protecting or growing the host species, or, indeed, in fighting a contaminant. If we can make the individual molecules from the fungus, it can help us to see how they could work as treatments."

The judging panel for the Pfizer Prize was made up of a distinguished group of scientists, including Dr Tony Wood, Head of Worldwide Medicinal Chemistry at Pfizer, and Professor Stephen Davies, Head of the University of Oxford's Department of Chemistry.

Allan's PhD research has received funding from an Industrial CASE (Collaborative Awards in Research and Engineering) Award in collaboration with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Source: www.nexxusscotland.com

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