Helen Sheldrake

Helen Sheldrake is a Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences within the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford. She serves as School Health and Safety Lead and Programme Leader for Clinical Sciences.

Dr. Sheldrake completed her Natural Sciences studies followed by a PhD in natural product synthesis at the University of Cambridge. After postdoctoral work at The University of Manchester, she joined the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Bradford as a RCUK Academic Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry before becoming a Lecturer.

Her research program focuses on:

• New synthetic methods for biologically active/druglike molecules
• Design and synthesis of integrin antagonists
• Total synthesis of natural products
• Investigation of combination therapies against integrin-mediated resistance to anticancer agents
• Targeted integrin degradation
• Synthesis of integrin-targeting small molecules for advanced cancers (particularly metastatic prostate cancer and malignant melanoma)
• Synthesis of biologically active natural products including Nigramide Q and Scopariusicides A-C

Dr. Sheldrake currently supervises postgraduate researcher Reuben McKay, whose work explores analogues of natural products with potential antibacterial and anticancer activities using enamine cyclisation reactions.

As Programme Leader for Clinical Sciences, she leads modules including CLS3006-C Chemistry, CLS5013-B Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and INC7018-E Research Project.