Niamh Morris

Niamh Morris

PhD student

Thesis Title: Autonomous phenotype-directed discovery of chemical probes

Primary Theme: Next Generation Chemistry

Franklin supervisors: Prof Adam Nelson and Dr Liang Wu

University: University of Leeds

University supervisor: Dr Megan Wright

Niamh is from Ireland and completed her undergraduate studies in Medicinal Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin. She is looking forward to working in the unique and collaborative environment at the Franklin and joining others in tackling important health research challenges.  

Niamh’s project focusses on small-molecule chemical probes which are highly valuable in both drug discovery and chemical biology. She aims to develop an autonomous phenotype-directed approach for the discovery and optimisation of functionally diverse chemical probes. Exemplar probes will be harnessed to reveal new insights into biological mechanisms. Autonomous, function-driven generation of the probes will enable a broader and more diverse exploration of chemical space than traditional human-driven, target-based approaches.