Dr Maria Paz Munoz-Herranz
Senior Lecturer in Synthetic ChemistryResearch Overview
Dr. Mu?oz is a synthetic chemist with expertise in physical organic chemistry and a strong interest in developing innovative metal-based methods for small?molecule synthesis with therapeutic potential.
Her research focuses on developing new strategies to access diverse N?heterocycles, privileged scaffolds in drug discovery.
Current projects include transition metal?catalysed reactions of allenes, bimetallic gold–platinum catalysis, and the design of allene-derived ligands for organometallic architectures.
She also investigates allene?derived complexes as metallodrugs and their interactions with DNA for diverse applications.
Collaborative projects span anticancer, antimicrobial, and antifungal drug discovery, with future directions in PROTACs for Alzheimer’s disease and DNA?encoded library methodologies.
Informal enquiries about self?funded opportunities are welcome.
Profile
Paz studied Chemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, where she graduated with a Master in Chemistry (Organic Chemistry) in 1999.
In 2001 she obtained her Diploma Thesis at the same University under the supervision of Prof. Antonio M. Echavarren, and then carried out her PhD in Chemistry in the same group (October 2004. “Competing Pathways in the Cyclization of 1,6-Enynes Catalyzed by Transition Metals: Selectivity Studies”).
During her postdoctoral stay in the group of Prof. Lloyd-Jones (University of Bristol), she held the positions of Research Assistant (working on “Synthesis of New 3,3'-Binol Derived Substituted Phosphoramidites” for the Ligand Bank, European Community's Sixth Framework Programme); Post-Doctoral Fellow from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (working in “Mechanistic and Kinetics Aspects of the Palladium-Catalyzed Cyclization of Dienes and Related Reactions”); and finally Research Associate (working on “Development of New Protocols for Alkene Difuntionalisation” financed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK).
In 2009, Dr Mu?oz returned to Madrid, Spain with a prestigious Ramón y Cajal Award to work at the Insituto de Química Orgánica General (IQOG-CSIC), where she started her research into the discovery of new platinum-catalysed reactions of allenes. In 2011, she moved to the University of East Anglia (UEA) as Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor in 2017.
She joined the Department of Chemistry at 快播视频 as a Senior Lecturer in Synthetic Chemistry in January 2023. She is currently the Head of the Organic Chemistry Section, the Industrial Placement coordinator for the new degree, MChem with Industrial Placement, and the Chemistry Director of Engagement.
Current Research
Selected publications from the group:
- Metal complexes as Antifungals? From a crowd-source compund library to the first in vivo experiments. Angelo Frei*, Alysha G. Elliott, Alex Kan, Hue Dinh, Stefan Braese, Alice E. Bruce, Mitchell R. Bruce, Feng Chen, Dhirgam Humaidy, Nicole Jung, A. Paden King, Peter G. Lye, Hannah K. Maliszewska, Ahmed M. Mansour, Dimitris Matiadis, María Paz Mu?oz, Tsung-Yu Pai, Shyam Pokhrel, Peter J. Sadler, Marina Sagnou, Michelle Taylor, Justin J. Wilson, Woods Dean, Johannes Zuegg, Wieland Meyer, Amy Cain, Mark A. T. Blaskovich*
- Precious metal complexes of bis(pyridil)allenes: synthesis, catalytic and medicinal applications. Hanna K. Maliszewska, Carla Arnau del Valle, Ying Xia, María J. Marín, Zo? A. E. Waller and M. Paz Mu?oz. .
- Allene-derived gold and platinum complexes: synthesis and first application in catalysis. Hanna K. Maliszewska, David L. Hughes and M. Paz Mu?oz. .
- Platinum and Gold Catalysis: a la Carte Hydroamination of Terminal Activated Allenes with Azoles. J. M. Alonso, M. P. Mu?oz*. .
- Heterobimetallic catalysis: Platinum-Gold-catalysed tandem cyclisation/C-X coupling reaction of (hetero)arylallenes with nucleophiles. J. M. Alonso, M. P. Mu?oz*. .
PhD Supervision Interests
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/dna-encoded-alchemy-gold-catalysis-on-a-genetic-canvas/?p192045
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01/08/2024 → 30/11/2024
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01/05/2024 → 30/04/2027
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01/04/2023 → 30/09/2023
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