Lesley Howell

Lesley Howell is a Professor of Pharma and Medicinal Chemistry and Director of Education at Queen Mary University of London's School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. She holds a Queen Mary Academy Fellowship (2021-2024) focused on advancing pedagogical strategies like Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL), which enhances student engagement and reduces attainment gaps. Her research spans two core areas: medicinal chemistry targeting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in GPCRs and chemical education initiatives emphasizing outreach, diversity, and decolonizing STEM curricula. She collaborates with the McCormick Group on GPCR heteromer projects and Dr. Tippu Sheriff on BAME scientist contributions to chemistry. Her work also explores mixed-reality laboratory environments to improve educational outcomes.

In teaching, she leads modules such as Foundations of Practical Chemistry and Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Her supervisory roles include mentoring PhD students Zara Farooq and Christos Matsingos. Research highlights include developing stapled peptides to disrupt GPCR oligomers and identifying cannabinoid receptor modulators. She advocates for inclusive education through projects like 'Does chemistry outreach influence university choices?' and 'Effective outreach evaluation.'