Andrew Holmes
University Laureate Professor of Chemistry, CSIRO Fellow & Distinguished Research Fellow (Imperial)
Email: aholmes@unimelb.edu.au
Location: Room 442, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Road, Parkville
Address: Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
Phone No: 8344-2344
Find an Expert page: http://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/researcher/person9093.html
Holmes Research group page: http://holmes.chemistry.unimelb.edu.au
Profile
- BSc, University of Melbourne, 1964
- MSc, University of Melbourne, 1967
- PhD, University College London, 1971
- MA (1973); ScD (1997) University of Cambridge
- Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellow, ETH-Zürich, 1971 - 72
- University Demonstrator (Assistant Lecturer), University of Cambridge, 1972 - 1977
- University Lecturer, University of Cambridge, 1977 - 1994
- Reader in Organic and Polymer Chemistry, University of Cambridge, 1995 - 1998
- Professor of Organic and Polymer Chemistry, University of Cambridge, 1998 - 2004
- Director, Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, University of Cambridge, 1994 – 2004
- Professor of Organic and Polymer Chemistry, Imperial College (on leave), 2004 - 2009
- ARC Federation and VESKI Fellow, University of Melbourne, 2004 - 2009
- FRS (2000), AM (2004), FAA & FTSE (2006)
Areas of Interest
Electroactive organic and polymeric materials
- synthesis
- solar cells
- light emitting devices
Biological Chemistry
- intracellular signalling
- phosphatidyl inositol polyphosphates
- nicotinic acetyl choline receptor
Natural Product Synthesis
- histrionicotoxins
- medium ring ethers
Research
Electroactive materials
Among the most exciting discoveries in materials science has been the observation that organic conjugated materials can show semiconductor properties.
Reference: A. C. Griimsdale et al., Chem. Rev., 2009, 109, 897-1091; J. K. Lee et al., Macromolecules, 2010, 43, 1195-1198.
More recently we have used such materials to harvest light and generate electricity with the opportunity to print cheap flexible solar cells.
Reference: W.W.H. Wong et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 2010, 20, 927-938.
Intracellular signalling
Using phosphatidyl inositol phosphates on affinity beads we can study the proteomics of intracellular signalling in colon cancer cells, and obtain an understanding of which proteins are important in controlling tumour growth.
Reference: S. J. Conway et al., Org. Biomolec. Chem., 2010, 8, 66-76.
Histrionicotoxin alkaloids
These poison arrow venom alkaloids inhibit the nicotinic acetyl choline receptor and are unavailable from natural sources as the frogs are a protected species. We have recently reported a continuous flow synthesis of perhydro-HTX.
Reference: M. Brasholz, et al., Tetrahedron, 2010, 66, 6445-6449.
Publications
A list of publications can be viewed at - http://holmes.chemistry.unimelb.edu.au/content/publications