Newcastle University

Main Responsibilities

Deputy Head of the School of Chemistry

Director of Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Degree Programme Director for BSc Natural Sciences 

Degree Programme Director for MSc Drug Chemistry 

Research Interests

My career began with a PhD at Leeds University where I worked with Dr David W Jones on an investigation into the mechanism of a norbornadiene rearrangement. I then worked with Professor Richard C Cookson at Southampton University on large ring synthesis using pericyclic reactions. This was followed by a year working with Professor BT Golding at Newcastle, where we embarked upon an investigation into the mechanism of toxicity of vinyl chloride.

My current research interests are focused on exploring reactivity in processes of biological significance. Projects include mechanisms of sensitisation by dialdehydes and anhydrides, reactions of the mycotoxin patulin, and, in a collaboration with Bernard Golding, we are looking at the metabolic fate of benzene and 1,3-butadiene and reactions of metabolites with peptides and DNA.

Modules currently taught:

Undergraduate Courses 

• CHY1102: Fundamentals of Biological and Medicinal Chemistry 

• CHY3009: Information Literacy

• CHY3102: Chemical Toxicology

• CHY3109: Advanced Medicinal Chemistry

Master's Level Courses

• CHY8810: Research Preparation and Development

• CHY8811: Research Project and Dissertation

• CHY8822: Drug Metabolism and Toxicology

• CHY8827: Biological and Medicinal Chemistry

• Golding BT, Barnes ML, Bleasdale C, Henderson AP, Jiang D, Li X, Mutlu E, Petty HJ, Sadeghi MM. Modeling the formation and reactions of benzene metabolites. Chemico-Biological Interactions 2010, 184(1-2), 196-200.
• Henderson AP, Bleasdale C, Delaney K, Lindstrom AB, Rappaport SM, Waidyanatha S, Watson WP, Golding BT. Evidence for the formation of Michael adducts from reactions of (E,E)-muconaldehyde with glutathione and other thiols. Bioorganic Chemistry 2005, 33(5), 363-373.
• Henderson AP, Barnes ML, Bleasdale C, Cameron R, Clegg W, Heath SL, Lindstrom AB, Rappaport SM, Waidyanatha S, Watson WP, Golding BT. Reactions of benzene oxide with thiols including glutathione. Chemical Research in Toxicology 2005, 18(2), 265-270.
• Henderson AP, Bleasdale C, Clegg W, Golding BT. 2,6-Diarylaminotetrahydropyrans from Reactions of Glutaraldehyde with Anilines: Models for Biomolecule Cross-Linking. Chemical Research in Toxicology 2004, 17(3), 378-382.
• Henderson AP, Mutlu E, Leclercq A, Bleasdale C, Clegg W, Henderson RA, Golding BT. Trapping of benzene oxide-oxepin and methyl-substituted derivatives with 4-phenyl- and 4-pentafluorophenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione. Chemical Communications 2002, 8(17), 1956-1957.
• Griffin, R. J., Arris, C. E., Bleasdale, C. , Boyle, F., Calvert, A. H., Curtin, N. J., Dalby, C., Kanugula, S., Lembicz, N., Newell, D. R., Pegg, A., Golding, B. T. Resistance-modifying agents. 8. Inhibition of O⁶-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase by O⁶-alkenyl-, O⁶-cycloalkenyl-, and O⁶-(2-oxoalkyl)guanines and potentiation of temozolomide cytotoxicity in vitro by O⁶-(1-cyclopentenylmethyl) guanine. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2000, 43(22), 4071-4083.
• Zhang D, Bleasdale C, Golding BT, Watson WP. Synthesis of enantiopure isoprene epoxides from (s)-lactic acid via 'dispoke' intermediates. Chemical Communications 2000, (13), 1141-1142.
• Arris, C. E., Bleasdale, C., Boyle, F. T., Calvert, A. H., Curtin, N. J., Dalby, C., Golding, B. T., Griffin, R. J., Lembicz, N., Lunn, J. M., Major, G. N., Newell, D. R. Mechanism-based inhibition of O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 1996, 212(1), 99-TOXI.
• Griffin, R. J., Pemberton, L. C., Rhodes, D., Bleasdale, C., Bowman, K., Calvert, A. H., Curtin, N. J., Durkacz, B. W., Newell, D. R., Porteous, J. K., Golding, B. T. Novel potent inhibitors of the DNA-repair enzyme poly (ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP). Anti-Cancer Drug Design 1995, 10(6), 507-514.
• Arris, C. E., Bleasdale, C., Calvert, A. H., Curtin, N. J., Dalby, C., Golding, B. T., Griffin, R. J., Lunn, J. M., Major, G. N., Newell, D. R. Probing the active site and mechanism of action of O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase with substrate-analogs to (O-6-substituted guanines). Anti-Cancer Drug Design 1994, 9(5), 401-408.