Jill Davies

Background

Jill Davies graduated from Coventry University in 1987 with a degree in Applied Biology.  After joining the School of Tropical Medicine the same year in the Wolfson Tropical Immunolgy Unit, she registered for an MSc by research and completed her thesis titled "In vitro immunisation in the production of monoclonal antibodies" in 1992.  In 1994, Jill joined Professor Steve Ward's group in the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Department in Liverpool University.  Initially she was involved in a project looking at the vacuolar ph of Plasmodium falciparum and testing novel antimalarials both in vivo and in vitro. In 2007, Jill rejoined the School and is currently working on a collaborate project funded by the A-WOL consortium looking at the pharmacokinetic profiles of potential anti Wolbachia drugs.

Research

The evaluation of novel anti-malarial drugs including in vitro and in vivo testing.  Pharmacokinetic studies of novel anti-filarial compounds.

Selected publications

  • Selected Publications

    O'Neill PM, Amewu RK, Nixon GL, ElGarah FB, Mungthin M, Chadwick J, Shone AE, Vivas L, Lander H, Barton V, Muangnoicharoen S, Bray PG, Davies J, Park BK, Wittlin S, Brun R, Preschel M, Zhang K and Ward SA (2010). Identification of a 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane antimalarial drug-development candidate (RKA 182) with superior properties to the semisynthetic artemisinins. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 49: 5693-5697.

    Amewu R, Gibbons P, Mukhtar A, Stachulski AV, Ward SA, Hall C, Rimmer K, Davies J, Vivas L, Bacsa J, Mercer AE, Nixon G, Stocks PA and O'Neill PM (2010). Synthesis, in vitro and in vivo antimalarial assessment of sulfide, sulfone and vinyl amide-substituted 1,2,4-trioxanes prepared via thiol-olefin co-oxygenation (TOCO) of allylic alcohols.Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 8: 2068-2077.

    O'Neill PM, Shone AE, Stanford D, Nixon G, Asadollahy E, Park BK, Maggs JL, Roberts P, Stocks PA, Biagini G, Bray PG, Davies J, Berry N, Hall C, Rimmer K, Winstanley PA, Hindley S, Bambal RB, Davis CB, Bates M, Gresham SL, Brigandi RA, Gomez-de-Las-Heras FM, Gargallo DV, Parapini S, Vivas L, Lander H, Taramelli D and Ward SA (2009). Synthesis, antimalarial activity, and preclinical pharmacology of a novel series of 4'-fluoro and 4'-chloro analogues of amodiaquine. Identification of a suitable "back-up" compound for N-tert-butyl isoquine. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 52: 1828-1844.

    Stocks PA, Bray PG, Barton VE, Al-Helal M, Jones M, Arouja NC, Gibbons P, Ward SA, Hughes RA, Biagini GA, Stocks PA, Bray PG, Barton VE, Al-Helal M, Jones M, Arouja NC, Gibbons P, Ward SA, Hughes RA, Biagini GA,Davies J, Amewu R, Mercer AE, Ellis G and O'Neill PM (2007).  Evidence for a common non-heme chelatable-iron-dependent activation mechanism for semisynthetic and synthetic endoperoxide antimalarial drugs. Angewandte Chemie (International Ed in English) 46: 6278-6283.

    Amewu R, Stachulski AV, Ward SA, Berry NG, Bray PG, Davies J, Labat G, Vivas L and O'Neill PM (2006) Design and synthesis of orally active dispiro 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes; synthetic antimalarials with superior activity to artemisinin.Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 4: 4431-4436.

    Amewu R, Stachulski AV, Berry NG, Ward SA, Davies J, Labat G, Rossignol JF and O'Neill PM (2006). Synthesis of 1,2,4-trioxepanes via application of thiol-olefin co-oxygenation methodology.  Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 16: 6124-6130.

    O'Neill PM, Verissimo E, Ward SA, Davies J, Korshin EE, Araujo N, Push MD, Cristiano ML, Stocks PA and Bachi MD (2006). Diels-Alder/thiol-olefin co-oxygenation approach to antimalarials incorporating the 2,3-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1] nonane pharmacophore.  Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 16: 2991-2995.

    O'Neill PM, Rawe SL, Borstnik K, Miller A, Ward SA, Bray PG, Davies J, Oh CH and Posner GH (2005). Enantiomeric 1,2,4-trioxanes display equivalent in vitro antimalarial activity versus Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites: implications for the molecular mechanism of action of the artemisinins.  Chembiochem: A European Journal of Chemical Biology 6: 2048-2054.

    O'Neill PM, Mukhtar A, Ward SA, Bickley JF, Davies J, Bachi MD and Stocks PA (2004). Application of thiol-olefin co-oxygenation methodology to a new synthesis of the 1,2,4-trioxane pharmacophore. Organic Letters 6: 3035-3038.

    O' Neill PM, Stocks PA, Pugh MD Araujo NC, Korshin EE, Bickley JF, Ward SA, Bray PG, Pasini E, Davies J, Verissimo E and Bachi MD (2004). Design and synthesis of endoperoxide antimalarial pro-drug models: prototypes for selective intraparasitic generation of cysteine protease inhibitors and other parasitocidal species. Angewandte Chemie (International Ed in English) 43: 4193-4197.

    Jeyadevan JP, Bray PG, Chadwick J, Mercer AE, Byrne A, Ward SA, Park BK, Williams DP, Cosstick R, Davies J, Higson AP, Irving, E, Posner GH and O'Neill PM (2004). Antimalarial and antitumor evaluation of novel C-10 non-acetal dimers of 10beta-(2-hydroxyethyl) deoxoartemisinin. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 47: 1290-1298.

    Hindley S, Ward SA, Storr RC, Searle NL, Bray PG, Park BK, Davies J and O'Neill PM (2002).  Mechanism-based design of parasite-targeted artemisinin derivatives: synthesis and antimalarial activity of new diamine containing analogues. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 45: 1052-1063.

    Bray PG, Saliba KJ, Davies JD, Spiller DG, White MR, Kirk K and Ward SA (2002). Distribution of acridine orange fluorescence in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes and its implications for the evaluation of digestive vacuole pH. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 119: 301-304; discussion 307-309, 311-313.

    Hawley SR, Bray PG, Mungthin M, Atkinson JD, O'Neill PM and Ward SA (1998). Relationship between antimalarial drug activity, accumulation and inhibition of heme polymerization in Plasmodium falciparum in vitroAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 42: 682-686.