Imogen Riddell

Imogen was born and raised in the Scottish Borders before moving to Glasgow to completed her undergraduate degree at The University of Strathclyde (2009). From there she moved to The University of Cambridge, where she completed her PhD in the field of supramolecular chemistry with Prof Jonathan Nitschke in 2013. Following this she completed a post-doctoral appointment with Prof Stephen Lippard at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she performed research into the mechanism of action of non-classical metalloanticancer agents. She joined the department as a Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow in 2017. 

Proteins are the building blocks of life and their exquisite functionality is often tied to their fragile three-dimensional structure, which is governed through multiple weak intramolecular interactions. Materials capable of stabilizing and promoting these interactions therefore offer exciting possibilities to develop our fundamental understanding of biology, as well as presenting potential industrial and medicinal applications.  

Our research interests lie at the interface of inorganic chemistry, materials science and biochemistry. Combining techniques developed in each of these disciplines we aim to (a) develop novel encapsulation solutions for biomolecules and (b) understand the interaction of biomolecules with synthetic constructs, with a specific focus on proteins.