School of Pharm. & Pharmaceut. Sc.
Cromore Road,
Coleraine,
Co. Londonderry,
BT52 1SA,
Dr Peter McPherson
Overview
Dr Peter A. C. McPherson completed a MA (Oxon) in Chemistry with Biochemistry and a PhD at Queen’s University Belfast. After a period of post-doctoral work at the University of North Carolina and New York Presbyterian Hospital, he combined a role in the health service as a Clinical Biochemist alongside a teaching post. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Charted Chemist and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Since 2023, he has been a Senior Lecturer at Ulster University and is currently the Course Director for the MSci (Hons) Pharmaceutical Bioscience and the School Health & Safety Coordinator.
Research Interests
Dr McPherson’s research focuses on the application of fundamental chemistry to the design, delivery and stability of drugs. With a particular interest in sustainable/green chemistry techniques and the use of computational methods, current areas of investigation include switching to bio-based solvents for extraction of natural products, improving the stability of drugs for space exploration and the use of nanoparticles (elastic liposomes) for topical drug delivery.
The McPherson group is open to MRes and PhD applications in the following areas:
- Use of density functional theory to model drug design and stability
- Sustainable extraction and characterisation of natural products
- Formulation and drug delivery with liposomes
- Lipids as active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients
Students will receive expert instruction in research design methodology, statistical/data analysis using RStudio, Python & MATLAB, and a range of modern laboratory techniques including: preparative chromatography, 1H-NMR, mass spectrometry, ultraviolet & fluorescence spectroscopy, and organic synthesis.
Prospective students should have a strong background in chemistry, biochemistry or pharmaceutical science and have some familiarity with basic data analysis.
Consultancy
Dr McPherson is an experienced cosmetic safety assessor and has advised a number of small and medium sized cosmetics and herbal medicine companies. He can provide assistance through Innovation Vouchers, Innovation Boost, KTPs or self-funded consultancy.
Research Opportunities
| Title | Closing Date |
|---|---|
| Self-Assembly of nucleic acids G-quadruplexes using Molecular Dynamics simulations Self-funded PhD Opportunity | Monday 7 April 2025 4:00PM |
| Development of machine learning models from imbalanced datasets in biomedicine Self-funded PhD Opportunity | Monday 7 April 2025 4:00PM |
| Atomic-detail structure of intermediates in self-assembly of G-quadruplex architectures by NMR spectroscopy Self-funded PhD Opportunity | Monday 7 April 2025 4:00PM |
| Development of Sustainable Photo-protectants for UV-Sensitive Drugs Self-funded PhD Opportunity | Monday 31 March 2025 4:00PM |
| From nucleic acid sequence to structure: Developing Deep Learning model for structure prediction of G-quadruplexes Self-funded PhD Opportunity | Monday 7 April 2025 4:00PM |
| Long-term Statin Use, Global Lipid Homeostasis & the Gut-Brain Axis Self-funded Doctor of Medicine (MD) Opportunity | Monday 31 March 2025 4:00PM |