Dr Rebecca Notman

Associate Professor, Royal Society University Research Fellow

R.Notman@warwick.ac.uk
+44 (0)2476 1 50889
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About Me

Dr Rebecca Notman is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Associate Professor based in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick (Oct 2012 - Present). Her research interests lie in the modelling and simulation of a range of systems that have important applications in biomedicine, pharmaceutical science and materials science. A particular focus of her current research is on understanding the molecular structure and organisation of the human skin barrier and mechanisms for transdermal drug delivery.

From 2009 - 2012, Rebecca held an independent Science City Research Fellowship, also in Warwick, with an honorary position in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Birmingham. Rebecca first came to Warwick in 2007 to take up a PDRA position in Biomaterials Modelling, working with Dr Tiffany Walsh (2007 - 2009). Prior to this she achieved her PhD in Computational Pharmaceutical Science at King's College London, under the supervision of Professor Jamshed Anwar and Dr Massimo Noro (Unilever R&D) (2003 - 2007). Rebecca also has an MSc with Distinction in Molecular Modelling (2002) and a BSc in Biochemistry (First Class Hons., 2001) from Cardiff University.

Research interests

We use molecular dynamics computer simulations to investigate biomolecular systems with a range of important applications in biomedicine, pharmaceutical science and materials science. A particular focus of our current research is on understanding the barrier and elastic properties of skin and strategies to enhance drug delivery through skin (transdermal drug delivery).

Publications

Impact of oxetane incorporation on the structure and stability of alpha-helical peptides, ES Jayawant, JD Beadle, I Wilkening, P Raubo, M Shipman, R Notman and AM Dixon, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020, 22, 25075-25083 (abstract).
Comparison of umbrella sampling and steered molecular dynamics methods for computing free energy profiles of aromatic substrates through phospholipid bilayers, SY Noh and R Notman, J. Chem. Phys., 2020, 153, 034115 (abstract).
The aggregation of striped nanoparticles in mixed phospholipid bilayers, SY Noh, A Nash and R Notman, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 4868-4881 (abstract).
Macrocyclisation of small peptides enabled by oxetane incorporation, S Roesner, GJ Saunders, I Wilkening, E Jayawant, JV Geden, P Kerby, AM Dixon, R Notman and M Shipman, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 2465-2472 (abstract).
Permeation Pathways through Lateral Domains in Model Membranes of Skin Lipids, A Del Regno and R Notman, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 2162-2174 (abstract).
T-shaped Peptide Amphiphiles Self Assemble into Nanofiber Networks. FA Fisusi, R Notman, LA Granger, JP Malkinson, AG Schätzlein and IF Uchegbu, Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, 2017, 5, 215-219 (abstract).
Synthesis of star-branched poly (vinyl alcohol) and ice recrystallization inhibition activity, TR Congdon, R Notman and MI Gibson, European Polymer Journal, 2017, 88, 320-327 (abstract).
Influence of Block Copolymerization on the Antifreeze Protein Mimetic Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity of Poly (vinyl alcohol),
TR Congdon, R Notman and MI Gibson, Biomacromolecules, 2016, 17, 3033-3039 (abstract).
Probing the biomimetic ice nucleation inhibition activity of poly (vinyl alcohol) and comparison to synthetic and biological polymers,
T Congdon, BT Dean, J Kasperczak-Wright, CI Biggs, R Notman and MI Gibson, Biomacromolecules, 2015, 16, 2820-2826 (abstract).
Computer Simulations of Lipid Membranes and Liposomes for Drug Delivery, DW O’Neill, SY Noh and R Notman, Computational Pharmaceutics: Application of Molecular Modelling in Drug Delivery, 2015 (abstract).
De novo design of transmembrane helix–helix interactions and measurement of stability in a biological membrane, A Nash, R Notman and AM Dixon,
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Biomembranes, 2015, 1848, 1248-1257 (abstract).
Complete structure of an epithelial keratin dimer: implications for intermediate filament assembly, DJ Bray, TR Walsh, MG Noro and R Notman, PloS one, 2015, 10, 1 (abstract and full text).
Ethanol induces the formation of water-permeable defects in model bilayers of skin lipids, R Thind, DW O'Neill, A Del Regno and R Notman, Chemical Communications, 2015, 51, 5406-5409 (abstract).
Powell, N. H., Clarkson, G. J., Notman, R., Raubo, P., Martin, N. G. and Shipman, M. (2014) Synthesis and structure of oxetane containing tripeptide motifs. Chem. Comm., 50, 8797 (abstract).
Thake, T. H. F., Webb, J. R., Nash, A., Rappoport, J. Z. and Notman, R. (2013) Permeation of Polystyrene Nanoparticles across Model Lipid Bilayer Membranes. Soft Matter, 9, 10265 (abstract).
Congdon, T., Notman, R. and Gibson, M. I. (2013) Antifreeze (Glyco)protein Mimetic Behavior of Poly(vinyl alcohol): Detailed Structure Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity Study. Biomacromolecules, 14, 1578 (abstract).
Deller, R.C., Congdon, T., Sahid, M., Morgan, M., Vatish, M., Mitchell, D.A., Notman, R., Gibson, M.I. (2013) Ice Recrystallisation Inhibition by Polyols: Comparison of Molecular and Macromolecular Inhibitors and Role of Hydrophobic Units. Biomater. Sci., 1, 478 (abstract).
Mazza, M., Notman, R., Anwar, J., Rodger, A., Hicks, M., Parkinson, G., McCarthy, D., Daviter, T., Moger, J., Garrett, N., Mead, T., Briggs, M., Schatzein, A. G. and Uchegbu, I. F. (2013) Nanofibre-Based Delivery of Therapeutic Peptides to the Brain. ACS Nano, 7, 1016 (abstract).
Notman, R. and Anwar, J. (2013) Breaching the Skin Barrier - Insights from Molecular Simulation of Model Membranes. Adv. Drug Del. Rev., 65, 237 (abstract).
Beevers, A. J., Nash, A., Salazar-Cancino, M., Scott, D. J., Notman, R. and Dixon, A. M. (2012) Effects of the oncogenic V₆₆₄E mutation on membrane insertion, structure and sequence-dependent interactions of the Neu transmembrane domain in micelles and model membranes: An integrated biophysical and simulation study. Biochemistry, 51, 2558 (abstract).
Parsons, P., Gilbert, S. J., Vaughan-Thomas, A., Sorrell, D. A., Notman, R., Bishop, M. Hayes, A. J., Mason, D. J. and Duance, V. C. (2011) Type IX Collagen Interacts with Fibronectin Providing an Important Molecular Bridge in Articular Cartilage, J. Biol. Chem. 286, 34986 (abstract).
Notman, R., Oren, E. E., Tamerler, C., Sarikaya, M., Samudrala, R. and Walsh, T. R. (2010) Solution Study of Engineered Quartz Binding Peptides using Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics, Biomacromolecules 11, 3266 (abstract).
Oren, E. E., Notman, R., Won, K. I., Evans, J. S., Walsh, T. R., Samudrala, R., Tamerler, C. and Sarikaya, M. (2010) Probing the Molecular Mechanisms of Quartz-Binding Peptides, Langmuir 26, 11003 (abstract).
Friling, S., Notman, R. and Walsh, T. R. (2010) Probing diameter-selective solubilisation of carbon nanotubes by reversible cyclic peptides using molecular dynamics simulations, Nanoscale 2, 98 (abstract).
Notman, R. and Walsh, T. R. (2009) Molecular dynamics studies of the interactions of water and amino acid analogs with quartz surfaces, Langmuir 25, 1638 (abstract).
Notman, R., Anwar, J., Briels, W.J., Noro, M.G. and den Otter, W.K. (2008) Simulations of skin barrier function: Free energies of hydrophobic and hydrophilic transmembrane pores in ceramide bilayers, Biophys. J. 95, 4763 (abstract).
Notman, R., Noro, M.G. and Anwar, J. (2007) Interaction of oleic acid with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers simulated by molecular dynamics, J. Phys. Chem. B 111, 12748 (abstract).
Notman, R., den Otter, W.K., Noro, M.G., Briels, W.J. and Anwar, J. (2007) The permeability enhancing mechanism of DMSO in ceramide bilayers simulated by molecular dynamics, Biophys. J. 93, 2056 (abstract).
Notman, R., Noro, M.G, O'Malley, B. and Anwar, J. (2006) Molecular basis for dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) action on lipid membranes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 13982 (abstract).
O'Malley, B., Moore, D. J., Noro, M., Anwar, J., Notman R., Dauskhardt, R. and Bedford, E. (2005) Towards a mechanical model of skin: Insights into stratum corneum mechanical properties from hierarchial models of lipid organisation, In Mechanical Properties of Bioinspired and Biological Materials; Viney, C., Katti, K., Ulm, F. J., Hellmich, C., Eds.; Materials Research Society: Warrendale, 2005; Vol. 844, p 167-172 (abstract).

Teaching and supervision