Dr Daniel Payne

I am a Lecturer in Chemistry in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences (LHCS). I am an active researcher in organic chemistry and materials science specialising in organic molecules and materials that produce singlet oxygen (a reactive oxygen species) for use as photosensitizers for the treatment of various cancers using photodynamic therapy. The focus of my research group is to develop functional molecules that can be incorporated into nano- and macro-scale functional materials without loss in activity for the desired function. This would allow for a bottom-up design approach for functional materials and would provide a single component system with tailorable and tuneable physical properties. The over-arching aim is the development of design rules to produce a toolkit of synthetic modifications to convert functional molecules into tailored functional materials via aggregation events.

Prior to joining the Open University in 2023, I spent five years working as a research fellow in Japan on the design and synthesis of novel macrocyclic compounds, singlet oxygen photosensitisers and the design and production of organic functional materials and prior to this was working in contract research for the pharmaceutical industry on the development of synthetic routes towards novel anti-cancer drugs.

PhD Opportunities 

Current PhD opportunities in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Science are advertised here: Current PhD opportunities | Life, Health and Chemical Sciences

If you would be interested to carry out a PhD in my group then please email me for more information. You can also watch the video below by Scott Andrew, a current student in my group, who talks about his research, experiences at the OU and his advice for potential PhD students.