Centre for Synthetic Biology and the Bioeconomy

Staff Profile

Professor Andrew Houlton

Professor of Inorganic Chemistry

Background

Area of Expertise


Andrew Houlton (AH) is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Newcastle University and previously held an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (1999-2004). His research focuses on inorganic/coordination chemistry aspects of DNA and DNA-based materials and nanomaterials. This research has been continually funded for over 20 years by a combination of research councils (EPSRC, BBSRC, RCUK) and other governmental bodies (EU, RDA), industry (Intel, Akzo Nobel, BAE Systems, Johnson Matthey, Touchlight Genetics) and charities/learned societies (Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation, Royal Society, Wolfson Foundation). His work has been recognized by, and covered in, book chapters and invited reviews and the feature of Science, Nature Nanotech, Chem.& Eng. News, NanoToday and RSC articles.


Andrew Houlton was awarded first class Hons. in Chemistry in 1985 and a Ph.D. for a thesis "Molecular and Electronic Structure of Iron Sandwich Compounds" in 1989 from Essex University. After postdoctoral research with the Cancer Research Campaign, he moved to Imperial College to work with Prof. D.M.P. Mingos on crystal engineering and molecular recognition in coordination compounds. He was appointed to a College lectureship in 1993. He joined the staff of the Department of Chemistry at Newcastle University as a lecturer in bio-inorganic chemistry in 1994, becoming senior lecturer in 1999 and Professor in 2004.

Houlton has published over 160 research papers, written invited review articles and contributed to several books. He was awarded the David Whytock Memorial Prize (1985) and a prestigious EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (1999–2004). He is a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College, UK representative on the Management Group for COST D39 and acts as a referee for EPSRC, BBSRC, RCUK, Leverhulme Trust, DoE, the Royal Society and a variety of international funding agencies. 


Research

Research Interests

Andrew Houlton (AH) is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Newcastle University and previously held an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (1999-2004). His research focuses on inorganic/coordination chemistry aspects of DNA and DNA-based materials (e.g. Nature Comm. 2017, 8, 720; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00852-6; Chemical Science 2019https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2019/SC/C8SC05103H#!divAbstract; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136, 6649 (DOI: 1021/ja500439v)Nanoscale, (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2014/nr/c3nr06767j#!divAbstract) ACS Nano, 2010, 4, 2149; DOI: 10.1021/nn9014533)  etc.) and nanomaterials.

This research has been continually funded for over 20 years by a combination of research councils (EPSRC, BBSRC, RCUK) and other governmental bodies (EU, RDA), industry (Intel, Akzo Nobel, BAE Systems, Johnson Matthey, Touchlight Genetics) and charities/learned societies (Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation, Royal Society, Wolfson Foundation). His work has been recognized by, and covered in, book chapters and invited reviews and the feature of Science, (Guiding Polymers with DNA 2014, 344, 588) Nature Nanotech (DNA shows the Way 2007 - https://www.nature.com/articles/nnano.2007.213)Chem.& Eng. News, NanoToday and RSC articles.


https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=qGbsIpgAAAAJ&hl=en



Teaching

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry CHY3306/CHY3305 - Module Leader 

Bio-inorganic Chemistry


Contemporary Inorganic Chemistry CHY8832 - Module Leader 

Bio-inorganic Chemistry


Further Inorganic Chemistry CHY8425

Structural Methods in Materials Chemistry

Publications