My research is focused on creating and developing chemical solutions to humanitarian challenges impacting marginalised groups, especially understanding, and treating WHO neglected tropical diseases. My current work explores a new approach to lateral flow tests, using synthetic chemistry rather than antibodies. The aim is to develop low-cost, rapid, and robust tools to understand the chemical and biological challenges of snake envenomation and make devices that will better support researchers and the wider public in diagnosing it.

Every 5 minutes, 50 people are bitten by a snake worldwide. Four will be permanently disabled and one will die. Snake envenomation is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that requires urgent attention. As a teacher, I experienced the dangers of snake envenomation while working overseas and saw the impacts it can have on a community. This, alongside my wider beliefs that chemical research should make a better world for everyone, drove me to this research area and Humanitarian Chemistry more broadly

I hope to show that glycans (sugars) and polymers can be used to differentiate snake venoms successfully and rapidly in blood, while also understanding the glycan binding more fully. I also aim to develop collaborative and equitable international partnerships with organisations and colleagues that will advance the study and awareness of snake envenomation globally.

I approach the research from a solution-focused perspective – these tools need to be easy to use and robust. They need to work for researchers and the public around the world. This means being willing to explore a wide range of chemical solutions to fix these humanitarian problems. So, the user is always at the front of my mind alongside doing some interesting chemistry too.

The biggest challenge is for this work is convincing people in wealthy, northern hemisphere settings, that snake envenomation and Humanitarian Chemistry are things we should be interested in. As a neglected tropical disease, this area of research is often underfunded and over-looked in favour of research questions that impact citizens in more economically developed countries. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the issues of health inequality around the globe. When less than 1% of tests for COVID-19 have been carried in low-income countries, we have a problem. If in some small way this work reduces these inequalities, or raises awareness of these inequalities, it has been a success.

If you asked most chemists to define “Humanitarian Chemistry”, I think you would get a handful of responses. But, I think more and more researchers are becoming aware of the need to work in these spaces. I hope over the next few years we will see more funding for neglected tropical diseases and that more chemical researchers will research humanitarian issues. The long-term scientific goal is to develop synthetic antivenoms and diagnostics that entirely replace the need for antibodies and have these medicines and devices in the hands of people around the world.

I believe Warwick is a special place to carry out applied research because of our strong links to industry and universities around the world. As a Warwick Alumnus I have seen the long-term vision Warwick has for its research and its students. In Chemistry, we have many world-leading colleagues working in the polymer and chemical biology spaces. More widely, Warwick is one of only a few universities in the UK that understands the value of public engagement alongside research.