Group members
Charlie Bell
Charlie grew up in Stockport, Greater Manchester, before completing his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Nottingham. During this time, he gained experience in the pharmaceutical industry with a yearlong placement at F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland, where he was involved in the development of biologically active small molecules for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Charlie completed his Master's project under the supervision of Prof. Hon Wai Lam, investigating the nickel-catalysed, diastereoselective synthesis of 3-methyleneindan-1-ols. In 2018, he moved to Oxford to join the Synthesis for Biology and Medicine CDT programme. After rotation projects in the groups of Prof. Jonathan Burton and Prof. Michael Willis, Charlie committed to a life in the Willis group, completing his DPhil in aza-sulfur chemistry in 2023. Shortly after, he began his post-doc in the group. In his free time, Charlie enjoys (free) coffee, running, squash, cooking and travelling.
Ivan Wong (Somerville College)
Originally from Hong Kong SAR, Ivan completed his Bachelor’s in Chemistry at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His final year project, under the supervision of Professor Fuk Yee Kwong, explored the Pd-catalysed C-H olefination of polyfluoroarenes with alkenyl tosylate. He also completed summer research placements working under the supervision of Professor Hak Fun Chow, Professor Hung Kay Lee and Professor Peter Scott in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. Currently, Ivan is working on the synthesis of sulfonimidamides and investigation on their potential applications. Outside the lab, Ivan enjoys sports, reading and video games.
Di Zhai (St Anne’s College)
Originally from Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Di got his bachelor's degree at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. During his Master’s project at Fudan University, he worked in Prof. Shengming Ma’s group in the metal catalysis of aerobic oxidation of alcohols. He has a broad interest in organic synthesis, particularly the field of photochemistry and metal catalysis. Outside of chemistry, Di enjoys swimming and Teamfight Tactics.
Ben Williams (Oriel College)
Ben is the recipient of the Alec Bond Graduate Scholarship in Chemistry. Originally from London, England, Ben has since lived in the Cayman Islands and Great Malvern. He graduated with a First Class MChem degree at University College, University of Oxford in 2020, completing his Part II project under the supervision of Prof Michael Willis developing new methods to generate sulfinamide radicals using photoredox catalysis. In summer 2019, Ben undertook a summer research placement working under Prof Ed Anderson working towards the total synthesis of Alcyopterson P and Miltiorin D. Ben joined the SBM CDT in September 2020 and completed a rotation in computational chemistry in a collaboration between the Duarte and Anderson groups working on iron catalysed Kumada couplings. Ben’s current area of research lies in photochemistry and copper catalysis. Outside of chemistry Ben’s interests include rowing, playing rugby, watching Formula 1, cooking and pub quizes.
Mingkai Wei (Wadham College)
Mingkai is from Changsha, China. He did his undergraduate in Sichuan University, with Professor Da-Gang Yu and Jason Chruma. Mingkai is now a third-year DPhil in the Willis group, working on the synthesis of aza-sulfur compounds. Outside the lab, he enjoys badminton, running and cooking.
May Merino (St. John’s College)
Originally from Manchester, May completed her MSci in Chemistry with Industrial Experience at the University of Bristol. In the third year of her undergraduate studies, she undertook an industrial placement at Cancer Research UK in Cambridge working on the synthesis of small molecules for drug development. Her Master's project was supervised by Jonathan Clayden, investigating chiral corannulenes. Her current research interests include catalysis and green chemistry, and she acts as the sustainability representative for the Willis group. Outside the lab she enjoys life drawing, cinema and live music.
Katherine Rodden (Lady Margaret Hall)
Originally from Ware, Hertfordshire, Katherine completed an MChem in Chemistry, Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of York, during which she carried out a one-year placement at Bayer CropScience in Germany on the synthesis of novel herbicides. She also completed a summer placement at Cancer Research UK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories in Cambridge working in the medicinal chemistry team on an oncology drug discovery project. She joined the SBM CDT in September 2021 and completed a rotation in the Conway group before re-joining the Willis group in September 2022. Outside the lab she enjoys dancing, baking and swimming.
Kangtao Zhu (St. Peter’s College)
Kangtao is originally from Hangzhou, China, and completed his BSc degree in the department of chemistry at University College London. After graduation, he directly pursued a DPhil in the department of Chemistry at Oxford under the supervision of Prof. Michael Willis. His research interest mainly focuses on the development of new methodologies and advanced organic synthesis in the area of medicinal chemistry. Outside the lab, he enjoys singing, dancing, rap, and basketball.
Suzie Davison (Wadham College)
Originally from Suffolk, England, Suzie recently graduated with a First-Class Honours MChem degree in Chemistry from the University of St Andrews. As part of her degree, she spent 12 months working as a synthetic chemist at GSK Montrose focusing on a variety of process improvement projects. For her final year project, Suzie worked under the supervision of Prof Allan Watson investigating C-H activation using cyanoboron reagents to synthesise aryl nitriles. Suzie joined the SBM CDT in September 2022 and completed rotations in the Langton and Willis group. Suzie joined the Willis group for her DPhil in September 2023 and works on new methodologies to access under-utilised sulfur functional groups. Outside of the lab, Suzie enjoys sailing and being by the sea.
Josh Baxter (Lady Margaret Hall)
Josh, originally from Preston, Lancashire, completed a four-year MChem at the University of Durham. Josh spent his final year on a Medicinal Chemistry placement at Roche in Basel, Switzerland. Here he worked on the synthesis and characterisation of novel antibiotic compounds against multi-drug resistant bacteria. He has a broad interest in organic synthesis, particularly in developing new synthetic methodologies for application in the construction of medicinally relevant compounds. Outside of the lab, Josh enjoys keeping fit, watching the rugby and hanging out with friends.
Matt Southern (St. Peter’s College)
Matt is the recipient of an Industrial Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. Originally from Cardiff, Matt completed his MChem with first class honours from the University of Durham under the supervision of Prof. Patrick Steel. During his final year, Matthew conducted an industrial placement at Sygnature Discovery synthesising and functionalising an sp3 rich compound library for high throughput screening. Following his placement, Matt continued working as a member of the high throughput experimentation team at Sygnature Discovery, exploring new synthetic techniques and supporting medicinal chemistry projects using array-based chemistry. He has a broad interest in organic synthesis and the use of automation and new technologies to synthesise biologically relevant molecules. Outside of the lab, Matt enjoys cooking, watching sport and a trip to the pub with friends.
Wyman Tse
Originally from Hong Kong SAR, Wyman completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at The University of Hong Kong. His final year project, under the supervision of Prof. David Lee Phillips, investigated the properties and chemical reaction mechanisms of phototriggered compounds by time-resolved spectroscopy and computational approaches. He then moved to the Chinese University of Hong Kong and completed his Ph.D. degree in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Fuk Yee Kwong, working on developing new heterocyclic phosphine ligands and their potential applications in challenging cross-coupling reactions. In 2024, he moved to Oxford and joined the Willis group as a visiting postdoctoral fellow. Currently, Wyman is working on developing new catalytic methodologies. Outside the lab, Wyman enjoys listening to music, watching baseball and playing video games.
Sajal Halder (Lincoln College)
Sajal is the recipient of an Indian government scholarship. Sajal is from West Bengal, India and did his Bachelor’s degree at Sripat Singh College, University of Kalyani. He then completed his MSc in Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore. His MSc project was focussed on sequential one-pot synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted-1H-pyrazoles from oxime acetates and cyclic sulfamidate imines under the supervision of Prof. Sampak Samanta. Sajal is now a first-year DPhil student in the Willis group, working on new catalytic methods to functionalise aza-sulfur functional groups. Outside the lab, he enjoys walking, swimming, playing badminton, watching cinema, sports, yoga and cooking.
Cherry Chung (St Peters College)
Cherry obtained her MChem at University of Oxford in 2024 and is currently a first year DPhil student in the Willis group. Her final year project,supervised by Prof. Luet Wong, focused on the application of P450BM3 monooxygenase on natural products. Her current research focuses on the synthesis of multi-functional azetidines. Outside chemistry, Cherry enjoys playing electronic games and travelling.
Luca Söhner
Originally from Heidelberg, Germany, Luca completed his BSc in Chemistry with Professor Bernhard Breit at the University of Freiburg. He joined the Willis Group for the third semester of his MSc. His current research focuses on expanding the reactivity of aza-sulfur reagents. Outside the lab, he enjoys watching football, playing video games and spending time with friends.
Cian Lomax (Pembroke College)
Cian is from Manchester and is in his 4th year at Pembroke College. He is working on his Part II project, synthesising new aza-sulfur heterocycles, which aligns with his general interest in organic synthesis and methodology. Outside of chemistry Cian does rowing, running, cycling and seeing his pals.
Ria Dhillion (Exeter College)
Ria is a fourth-year student at Exeter College, currently undertaking her Part II project on the synthesis of sulfondiimidoyl fluorides and exploring the reactions that they can undergo. In her free time, she enjoys playing badminton and getting dessert with her friends.
Christopher Hargreaves (Queen’s College)
Originally from St Helens in Merseyside, Christopher is a Part II student currently researching the use of energy transfer catalysis to introduce sp3 centres by dearomative photocycloadditions. Outside of the lab Chris’ hobbies include hiking, reading, going to metal concerts, hanging out with friends and putting googly eyes on random objects to make them cute.
