DrSteve Connolly

The search for academic excellence permeates and informs my personal approach and general philosophy, embraced as a result of gaining extensive professional experience of research and teaching within the area of organic chemistry and related fields currently manifested in my role operationalising and co-ordinating undergraduate (UG) education in the Department of Life Sciences. Present focus includes originating and facilitating the Peer Assisted Study Skills programme to assist the transition of freshers to university, co-ordinating the UG Personal Tutor system, expediting the ePortfolio reflective writing scheme as well as providing departmental careers advice and organising careers events.

Prior to my appointment as Undergraduate Education Co-ordinator (originally recruited as the Department's first UG Liaison) I worked elsewhere in HE as a Senior Lecturer delivering general courses in chemistry at both the UG and PG levels. My teaching expertise ranged from all aspects of organic chemistry to medicinal chemistry, toxicology, petroleum chemistry as well as spectroscopic interpretation, and my preferred delivery style has now firmly embraced interactive (i.e. “flipping” the classroom and other student-centric) methods. I am also, apparently, one of the few academics (as a "Simmarian") qualified with a PGCE.

In addition to my teaching and research activities (of which see below) I possess considerable course management experience, particularly as a result of initiating, leading and steering a highly successful M.Sc programme in Petroleum Engineering (2004-6 & 2012-13); in between which I also led the Master's course in Analytical Chemistry, for a period of 4 years.

My personal research has resulted in 4 successful PhD completions, either as director of studies or second supervisor, a variety of conference abstracts and papers as well as journal articles in an eclectic mix of areas, including: medicinal chemistry, drug delivery, polymer fracture mechanics, QRT-PCR DNA analysis of Staphylococcus aureus and the analysis of nano-silver migration from packaging into food. Previously, I was involved with the custom synthesis of fine organic chemicals in the North East chemical industry, preceded by academic work which took me overseas (1995-97) at the Assistant Professor level. My post-doctoral work was conducted in the pharmaceutical industry from 1989 to 1992, where I developed skills in medicinal chemistry at Merck Sharp & Dohme's Neuroscience Research Centre, Terlings Park – winning the Centre’s first Award of Excellence for work on the homochiral muscarinic agonist (cholinomimetic) L696,986. My most significant contribution during this time, however, was as part of the discovery group that identified the $500m per year anti-migraine drug rizatriptan (Maxalt).

I first found out how to make small molecules during doctoral studies at Queen Mary University of London by developing skills in synthetic organic chemistry – the particular subject of my PhD being novel alpha amino acid chemistry – under the supervision of Nigel S. Simpkins (a graduate of Imperial College and former Haworth Professor, Birmingham University). I hold a B.Sc and HND in chemistry from NELP and Kingston Polytechnic, respectively, as well as being a long standing member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and Chartered Chemist. My outside interests include cycling, reading in a wide range of subjects (including Islamic theology and jurisprudence) and writing.