Claudia Fraser

I am a second year DPhil student in the Cornelissen group working to develop Ataxia-Telengiectasia Mutated (ATM) targeted PET imaging agents. My project is currently focusing on the chemical synthesis of precursors to small molecule ATM inhibitors for radiolabeling with fluorine-18. I will then characterise these compounds in vitro and assess their use as PET imaging agents in vivo.

I graduated in 2019 from the University of Warwick with an MChem in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry with Industrial Placement. My masters project, with Dr Christophe Corre and Dr David Fox, focused on comparing the biosynthesis of a family of natural products, gaburedins, both in the parent strain and a in E. coli transfected with the relevant biosynthetic pathway, with chemical synthesis of the same compounds in order to gauge the potential usefulness of a biocatalytic system for production of urea-moieties. During my third year I undertook a 12-month research placement at Isomerase Therapeutics Ltd in Cambridge, UK, working on the isolation of a natural product compound from bacterial fermentation, by liquid-liquid extraction and HPLC purification, for use in antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). In addition to these extended projects, I also completed shorter placements during my degree study, including the University of Warwick URSS scheme, working on synthesis of a natural product compound with Dr David Fox, and an AstraZeneca synthesis student summer placement working on aromatic synthetic methodologies.