Background

Background

After finishing my DPhil with Dr. Jeremy Robertson (Oxford) entitled "Silicon Tethered Ene and Allyl Transfer Reactions", I moved to Dublin for a postdoctoral position with Dr. Donal O'Shea (UCD) where I worked on the synthesis of switchable photodynamic therapy agents. I then moved to Paris to work with Professor Janine Cossy and Dr Christophe Meyer (ESPCI) on the total synthesis of phoslactomycin. I subsequently was appointed as a Lecturer at Newcastle University in 2007, before being to promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2016. In 2020 Dr Mike Probert (Newcastle) and I launched the spin-out company Indicatrix Crystallography, providing ENaCt crystallisation technology to the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries.

Areas of Expertise

Organic Synthesis

Natural Products

Crystallisation of Small Organic Molecules

Prizes and Awards

• RSC Emerging Technologies (Health) Finalist, 2020
• Dave Kelly Cup, Gregynog Synthesis Meeting, 2019
• Newcastle University Innovator of the Year, 2014
• BioNow Awards, Medical Project of the Year, 2013
• Medical Futures Innovation Awards, invited finalist 2011

External Roles

• CEO, Indicatrix Crystallography (indicatrix.co.uk)
• External Examiner (MSc Chemistry), University of Leeds, 2023-2027
• External Examiner (BSc/MChem Chemistry), University of Kent, 2019-2023

Qualifications

• DPhil, Linacre College, Oxford, 2003
• MChem, Brasenose College, Oxford, 1999

Previous Positions

• CNRS Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ESPCI, Paris, 2006
• Postdoctoral Research Assistant, CSCB, University College Dublin, 2003-2005

Google Scholar

@DrMichaelJHall

Research

Research Interests

Synthetic organic chemistry: Natural Products, Bioactive molecules

Crystallisation of small organic molecules

Current Work

Current work is divided into three research areas; isolation, characterisation and synthesis of biologically active natural products, new synthetic methodology based on multicomponent "one pot" reactions and the development of new fluorophores for application in bioimaging and sensing.

Funding

2022

The UK National Crystallography Service 2022-27 (EPSRC): £1,207,136

2019

Northern Accelerator CCF (PoC): Robot Assisted Micro-crystallisation Platform for Polymorph Screening and Structural Solution – Prototype Workflow Development, Industrial Demonstrations and Market Development, £48,683

MICA: Novel mode of RNA polymerase inhibition by a new natural rifamycin, which is active against rifampicin-resistant RNA polymerase, Medical Research Council (MRC), £603,841

Industrial Demonstration of Newcastle High Throughput Crystallisation Screening Platform, Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), £11,845

N8 - High throughput structural elucidation of plant natural products and agrochemical metabolites, N8 Research Partnership, £31,580

2018

Metabolomics by Automated Crystallography (MbAC): Solving the Structural Elucidation Bottleneck in Natural Product Discovery and Bioengineering through Automated Crystallisation and Single Crystal X-Ray Diffraction, NPRONET, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), £43,843

2017

Bill toScale-up and Structural Elucidation of Novel Natural Product Antibiotics from the Demuris Actinomycete Collection, NPRONET, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), £10,000

2016

Studying the development of a new natural product antibiotic for the treatment of ESKAPE infections, Rosetrees Trust, £54,171

2014

A New Antibiotic for Gram Positive Bacterial Infections, Medical Research Council (MRC), £29,282

2013

A Novel Crosslinking Strategy for MS Structural Biology, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), £116,056

2012

Probing the Mechanisms of dSTORM Reporters, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), £118,521

2010

Towards commercial application of a novel method to prevent and remove bacterial biofilms, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), £137,802

Diels-Alder/Ene Reactions for the Multi-Component Synthesis, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), £96,013

Total Funding to Date - £2,508,773

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching (BSc/MChem)

NES2402 - Organic Chemistry

NES3402 - Advanced Organic Chemistry (Module leader

NES3406 - Advanced Organic Chemistry DL (Module leader)

NES8404 - Pericyclic and radical reactions (Module leader)

Postgraduate Teaching (MSc)

NES8807 - Pericyclic and radical reactions (Module leader)

MChem and MSc project supervision

Publications

• Articles

  • Rangel-Grimaldo M, Earp CE, Raja HA, Wood JS, Crull EB, Mardiana L, Ho KL, Longcake A, Williamson RT, Palatinus L, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Oberlies NH. Wheldone Revisited: Structure Revision via DFT-GIAO chemical shift calculations, 1,1-HD-ADEQUATE NMR Spectroscopy, and X-ray Crystallography Studies. Journal of Natural Products 2024, 87(8), 2095-2100.
  • Metherall JP, Corner PA, McCabe JF, Hall MJ, Probert MR. High-Throughput Nanoscale Crystallisation of Dihydropyridine Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. Acta Crystallographica Section B 2024, 80(1), 4-12.
  • Al Mamari, HH, Al Sulaimi, S, Mardiana, L, Waddell, PG, Probert, MR, Hall, MJ. Confirmation of the site-selectivity of Ru-catalyzed 4-aminoantipyrine-directed C(sp2)-H Bond arylation. Journal of Molecular Structure 2025. In Preparation.
  • Ayon NJ, Earp CE, Gupta R, Butun FA, Clements AE, Lee AG, Dainko D, Robey MT, Khin M, Mardiana L, Longcake A, Rangel-Grimaldo M, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Burdette JE, Keller NP, Raja HA, Oberlies NH, Kelleher NL, Caesar LK. Bioactivity-driven fungal metabologenomics identifies antiproliferative stemphone analogs and their biosynthetic gene cluster. Metabolomics 2024, 20(5), 90.
  • Brightwell DF, Samanta K, Muldoon J, Fleming PC, Ortin Y, Mardiana L, Waddell PG, Hall MJ, Fantuzzi F, Clark ER, Palma A. Applying Classical Design Principles for Metallo-Organic Ligands to Peptide Based Ligands: The Stereoselective Synthesis of a Peptide Based Pd₂L₄X₄ Cage. ChemistryEurope 2024, epub ahead of print.
  • Ragbirsingh R, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Waddell PG. A state of independents: rationalising the high Z' crystal structures of shikimate esters. Crystal Growth & Design 2024, 24(3), 1429-1437.
  • Clarke RG, Weatherston J, Taj-Aldeen RA, Waddell PG, McFarlane W, Penfold TJ, Bogaerts J, Herrebout W, Mackenzie L, Pal R, Hall MJ. Synthesis and Structural Diversification of Circularly Polarised Luminescence Active, Helically Chiral, “Confused” N,N,O,C-BODIPYs. ChemPhotoChem 2023, 7(1), e202200194.
  • Zhu Q, Wei L, Zhao C, Qu H, Liu B, Fellowes T, Yang S, Longcake A, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Zhao Y, Cooper AI, Little MA. Soft Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks Constructed Using a Flexible Organic Cage Hinge. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2023, 145(42), 23352-23360.
  • Straker H, McMillian L, Mardiana L, Hebberd G, Watson E, Waddell PG, Probert MR, Hall MJ. Polymorph prediction through structural isomorphism and discovery of a new crystalline form of cannabidiol. CrystEngComm 2023, 25(16), 2479-2484.
  • Metherall JP, Carroll RC, Coles SJ, Hall MJ, Probert MR. Advanced crystallisation methods for small organic molecules. Chemical Society Reviews 2023, 52(6), 1995-2010.
  • Zhu J, Moreno I, Quinn P, Yufit DS, Song L, Young CM, Duan Z, Tyler AR, Waddell PG, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Smith AD, O'Donoghue AC. The Role of the Fused Ring in Bicyclic Triazolium Organocatalysts: Kinetic, X-ray and DFT Insights. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2022, 87(6), 4241–4253.
  • AlSubeh ZY, Waldbusser A, Raja HA, Pearce CJ, Ho KL, Hall MJ, Probert MR, Oberlies NH, Hematian S. Structural Diversity of Perylenequinones is Driven by their Redox Behavior. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2022, 87(5), 2697-2710.
  • Algoazy N, Clarke RG, Penfold TJ, Waddell PG, Probert MR, Aerts R, Herrebout W, Stachelek P, Pal R, Hall MJ, Knight JG. NIR Circularly Polarised Luminescence from Helically-Extended Chiral N,N,O,O-Boron Chelated Dipyrromethenes. ChemPhotoChem 2022, 6(9), e202200090.
  • Kepplinger B, Wen X, Tyler AR, Kim BY, Brown J, Banks P, Dashti Y, Mackenzie ES, Wills C, Kawai Y, Waldron KJ, Allenby NEE, Wu LJ, Hall MJ, Errington J. Mirubactin C rescues the lethal effect of cell wall biosynthesis mutations in Bacillus subtilis. Frontiers in Microbiology 2022, 13, 1004737.
  • Dzeha T, Hall MJ, Burgess JG. Micrococcin P1 and P2 from Epibiotic Bacteria Associated with Isolates of Moorea Producens from Kenya. Marine Drugs 2022, 20(2), 128.
  • Kepplinger B, Mardiana L, Cowell J, Morton-Laing S, Dashti Y, Wills C, Marrs ECL, Perry JD, Gray J, Goodfellow M, Errington J, Probert MR, Clegg W, Bogaerts J, Herrebout W, Allenby N, Hall MJ. Discovery, Isolation, Heterologous Expression and Mode-of Action Studies of the Antibiotic Polyketide Tatiomicin from Amycolatopsis sp. DEM30355. Scientific Reports 2022, 12, 15579.
  • Frank F, Waddell PG, Hall MJ, Knight JG. Synthesis and Reactivity of 3,5-Diiodo-BODIPYs via a Concerted, Double Aromatic Finkelstein Reaction. Organic Letters 2021, 23(21), 8595-8599.
  • Abualnaja M, Cowell J, Jolliffe JD, Wills C, Waddell PG, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Diastereoselective Rearomative Etherifications and Aminations of 2,3,9,9a-Tetrahydro-1H-carbazoles. Tetrahedron 2021, 89, 132144.
  • Frank F, Manzoli LA, Mauker P, Alsimaree AA, Waddell PG, Probert MR, Penfold TJ, Knight JG, Hall MJ. Synthesis of 3,5-Dichloro-4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacenes (BODIPYs) via Cu(OTf)₂ Mediated Oxidative Nucleophilic Substitution of Hydrogen by Chloride. Tetrahedron 2020, 76(17), 131113.
  • Tyler AR, Ragbirsingh R, McMonagle CJ, Waddell PG, Heaps SE, Steed JW, Thaw P, Hall MJ, Probert MR. Encapsulated Nanodroplet Crystallization of Organic-Soluble Small Molecules. Chem 2020, 6(7), 1755-1765.
  • Dzeha T, Nyiro C, Kardasopoulos D, Mburu D, Mwafaida J, Hall MJ, Burgess JG. UV Resistance of bacteria from the Kenyan Marine cyanobacterium, Moorea Producens. MicrobiologyOpen 2019, 8(4), e00697.
  • Harriman A, Karlsson JKG, Laude A, Hall MJ. Photoisomerization of the Cyanine Dye Alexa‐Fluor® 647 (AF‐647) in the Context of dSTORM Super‐Resolution Microscopy. Chemistry - A European Journal 2019, 25(65), 14983-14998.
  • Mosaei H, Molodtsov V, Kepplinger B, Harbottle J, Moon C, Jeeves R, Ceccaroni L, Shin Y, Morton-Laing S, Marrs ECL, Wills C, Clegg W, Yuzenkova J, Perry JD, Bacon J, Errington J, Allenby NEE, Hall MJ, Murakami KS, Zenkin N. Mode of Action of Kanglemycin A, an Ansamycin Natural Product that Is Active against Rifampicin Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Molecular Cell 2018, 72(2), 263-274.
  • Kepplinger B, Morton S, Seistrup K, Marrs E, Hopkins A, Perry J, Strahl H, Hall M, Errington J, Allenby N. Mode of Action and Heterologous Expression of the Natural Product Antibiotic Vancoresmycin. ACS Chemical Biology 2018, 13(1), 207-214.
  • Lunn S, Hribesh S, Whitfield C, Hall M, Houlton A, Brownowska A, Tuite EM, Pike AR. Duplex Healing of Selectively Thiolated Guanosine Mismatches through a Cd2+ Chemical Stimulus. ChemBioChem 2018, 19(11), 1115-1118.
  • Basle A, Hewitt L, Koh A, Lamb HK, Thompson P, Burgess JG, Hall MJ, Hawkins AR, Murray H, Lewis RJ. Crystal structure of NucB, a biofilm-degrading endonuclease. Nucleic Acids Research 2018, 46(1), 473-484.
  • Cowell J, Buck M, Essa AH, Clarke R, Vollmer W, Vollmer D, Hilkens CM, Isaacs JD, Hall MJ, Gray J. Traceless-Cleavage of Protein-Biotin Conjugates Under Biologically-Compatible Conditions. ChemBioChem 2017, 18(17), 1688-1691.
  • Tyler A, Mosaei H, Morton S, Waddell PG, Wills C, McFarlane W, Gray J, Goodfellow M, Errington J, Allenby N, Zenkin N, Hall MJ. Structural Reassignment and Absolute Stereochemistry of Madurastatin C1 (MBJ-0034) and the Related Aziridine Siderophores: Madurastatins A1, B1 and MBJ-0035. Journal of Natural Products 2017, 80(5), 1558–1562.
  • Baksh A, Kepplinger B, Isah H, Probert MR, Clegg W, Wills C, Goodfellow M, Errington J, Allenby N, Hall MJ. Production of 17-O-demethyl-geldanamycin, a cytotoxic ansamycin polyketide, by Streptomyces hygroscopicus DEM20745. Natural Product Research 2017, 31(16), 1895-1900.
  • Clarke R, Ho KL, Alsimaree AA, Waddell PG, Bogaerts J, Herrebout W, Knight J, Pal R, Penfold T, Hall MJ. Circularly Polarised Luminescence from Helically Chiral 'Confused' N,N,O,C-Boron-Chelated Dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs). ChemPhotoChem 2017, 1(11), 513-517.
  • Abualnaja M, Waddell PG, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Synthesis of pentacyclic pyrrolo[3,4-a]carbazole-1,3(2H)-diones via an intermolecular Diels-Alder, intramolecular carbonyl-ene reaction strategy. Tetrahedron 2016, 72(38), 5798-5806.
  • Alnoman RB, Rihn S, OConnor DC, Black FA, Costello B, Waddell PG, Clegg W, Peacock RD, Herrebout W, Knight JG, Hall MJ. Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Helically Chiral N,N,O,O-Boron Chelated Dipyrromethenes. Chemistry - A European Journal 2016, 22(1), 93-96.
  • Essa AH, Lerrick RI, Çiftçi E, Harrington RW, Waddell PG, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Grignard-mediated reduction of 2,2,2-trichloro-1-arylethanones. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2015, 13(20), 5793-5803.
  • Cowell J, Harrington RW, Probert MR, Hall MJ. Enantioselective synthesis of functionalised tetrahydrocarbazoles via an organocatalysed Diels-Alder/ene reaction strategy. Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 2015, 26(20), 1189-1196.
  • Cowell J, Abualnaja M, Morton S, Linder R, Buckingham F, Waddell PG, Probert MR, Hall MJ. Diastereoselective synthesis of functionalised carbazoles via a sequential Diels-Alder/ene reaction strategy. RSC Advances 2015, 5(21), 16125-16152.
  • Lerrick RI, Winstanley TPL, Haggerty K, Wills C, Clegg W, Harrington RW, Bultinck P, Herrebout W, Benniston AC, Hall MJ. Axially Chiral BODIPYs. Chemical Communications 2014, 50(36), 4714-4716.
  • Oxley A, Berry P, Taylor GA, Cowell J, Hall MJ, Hesketh J, Lietz G, Boddy AV. An LC/MS/MS method for stable isotope dilution studies of β-carotene bioavailability, bioconversion and vitamin A status in humans. Journal of Lipid Research 2014, 55(2), 319-328.
  • Essa AH, Lerrick RI, Tuna F, Harrington RW, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Reduction of 2,2,2-trichloro-1-arylethanones by RMgX: mechanistic investigation and the synthesis of substituted α,α-dichloroketones. Chemical Communications 2013, 49(27), 2756-2758.
  • Shields RC, Mokhtar N, Ford M, Hall MJ, Burgess JG, ElBadawey MR, Jakubovics NS. Efficacy of a Marine Bacterial Nuclease against Biofilm Forming Microorganisms Isolated from Chronic Rhinosinusitis. PLoS One 2013, 8(2), e55339.
  • Grossi M, Palma A, McDonnell SO, Hall MJ, Rai DK, Muldoon J, O'Shea DF. Mechanistic Insight into Formation of Tetraarylazadipyrromethenes. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2012, 77(20), 9304–9312.
  • Watson LJ, Harrington RW, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Diastereoselective intermolecular ene reactions: synthesis of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-benzo[d]imidazoles. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2012, 10(33), 6649-6655.
  • Cotterill LJ, Harrington RW, Clegg W, Hall MJ. Thermal 1,3-Trityl Migrations in Diels-Alder Domino Reactions of 1-Trityl-4-vinyl-1H-imidazoles. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2010, 75(13), 4604-4607.
  • Nijland N, Hall MJ, Burgess JG. Dispersal of Biofilms by Secreted, Matrix Degrading, Bacterial DNase. PLoS One 2010, 5(12), e15668.
  • Druais V, Hall MJ, Corsi C, Wendeborn SV, Meyer C, Cossy J. A convergent approach toward phoslactomycins and leustroducsins. Tetrahedron 2010, 66(33), 6358-6375.
  • Byrne AT, O'Connor AE, Hall M, Murtagh J, O'Neill K, Curran KM, Mongrain K, Rousseau JA, Lecomte R, McGee S, Callanan JJ, O'Shea DF, Gallagher WM. Vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy with BF2-chelated Tetraaryl-Azadipyrromethene agents: a multi-modality molecular imaging approach to therapeutic assessment. British Journal of Cancer 2009, 101(9), 1565-1573.
  • Robertson J, Hall MJ, Green SP. Stereospecific α-(methyl)allylation of hydroxyaldehydes by silatropic ene cyclisation. Tetrahedron 2009, 65(28), 5541-5551.
  • Druais V, Hall MJ, Corsi C, Wendeborn SV, Meyer C, Cossy J. A Convergent Approach towards the C1–C11 Subunit of Phoslactomycins and Formal Synthesis of Phoslactomycin B. Organic Letters 2009, 11(4), 935–938.
  • Robertson J, Green SP, Hall MJ, Tyrrell AJ, Unsworth WP. Further studies on silatropic carbonyl ene cyclisations: β-crotyl(diphenyl)silyloxy aldehyde substrates; Synthesis of 2-deoxy-2-C-phenylhexoses. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 2008, 6(14), 2628-2635.
  • Loudet A, Bandichhor R, Burgess K, Palma A, McDonnell SO, Hall MJ, O'Shea DF. B,O-Chelated Azadipyrromethenes as Near-IR Probes. Organic Letters 2008, 10(21), 4771-4774.
  • Hall MJ, Allen LT, O'Shea DF. PET modulated fluorescent sensing from the BF₂ chelated azadipyrromethene platform. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2006, 4(5), 776-780.
  • McDonnell SO, Hall MJ, Allen LT, Byrne A, Gallagher WM, O'Shea DF. Supramolecular Photonic Therapeutic Agents. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2005, 127(47), 16360-16361.
  • Gallagher WM, Allen LT, O'Shea C, Kenna T, Hall M, Gorman A, Killoran J, O'Shea DF. A Potent Non-Porphyrin Class of Photodynamic Therapeutic Agent: Cellular Localization, Potential and Influence on Hypoxia. British Journal of Cancer 2005, 92(9), 1702-1710.
  • Hall MJ, McDonnell SO, Killoran J, O'Shea DF. A Modular Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Tetraarylazadipyrromethenes. The Journal of Organic Chemistry 2005, 70(14), 5571-5578.
  • Robertson J, Hall MJ, Green SP. Stereospecificity in the silicon tethered -(methyl)allylation of aldehydes. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2003, 1, 3635-3638.
  • Robertson J, Hall MJ, Stafford PM, Green SP. Ene cyclisations of α-(prenyl)dialkylsilyloxy aldehydes: formation and oxidative cleavage of oxasilacyclohexanols. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2003, 1(21), 3758-3767.
  • Taylor PN, O'Connell MJ, McNeill LA, Hall MJ, Aplin RT, Anderson HL. Insulated Molecular Wires: Synthesis of Conjugated Polyrotaxanes by Suzuki Coupling in Water. Angewandte Chemie 2000, 112(19), 3598-3602.

• Book Chapters

  • Hall MJ, de la Moya S. BODIPY Based Emitters of Circularly Polarized Luminescence. In: Tadashi Mori, ed. Circularly Polarized Luminescence of Isolated Small Organic Molecules. Singapore: Springer, 2020, pp.117-150.
  • Clarke RG, Hall MJ. Recent Developments in the Synthesis of the BODIPY Dyes. In: Eric Scriven, Portland, USA and Christopher Ramsden, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK, ed. Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry. Academic Press, 2019, pp.181-261.