Staff Profile

Currently a Senior Research Associate based in the Cancer Research Horizons Therapeutic Innovation and NU Centre for Cancer Medicinal Chemistry Labs, working as part of the multi-disciplinary, anti-cancer drug discovery programme. 

Working in close conjunction with the Newcastle and Astex bioscience and structural biology groups, I play a role in the design and synthesis of small-molecule antitumour agents and am active in the co-supervision of medicinal chemistry team members. 

SCOPUS: Click here.; ORCID ID:0000-0003-1646-593X

GOOGLE SCHOLAR:https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=qtp3UowAAAAJ&hl=en


Qualifications:
PhD in Organic Chemistry (University of Glasgow)
Studies Towards the Synthesis of LL-Z1640-2 and Spirocyclic Systems.

• Established and optimised a synthetic route to the 14-membered macrocycle, LL-Z1640-2.  The challenge of the total synthesis was addressed by the development of a flexible, economic and efficient synthesis.
• A concise method towards highly functionalised spirocyclic piperidine units was achieved using the regioselective aza-Achmatowicz oxidative rearrangement. 

MSc by Research in Carbohydrate Chemistry (University of Dundee)  
Synthesis of Di- and Tri-Saccharide Fragments of a GPI Anchor from Leishmania.    

• Synthetic targets were fragments of the GPI anchor of Leishmania lipophosphoglycan, containing β-D-Galf at the terminus.  Chemical syntheses of neutral disaccharides and trisaccharides, as well as the preparation of phosphorylated trisaccharides, were undertaken.
  
  

BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Pharmacology (University of Dundee)                            
Synthesis of (1R, 2R)-2-O-(2,3,4,6-Tetra-O-benzoyl-α-D-mannopyranosyl-cyclohexanol.

Area of expertise

• Medicinal Chemistry

• Gai C, Harnor SJ, Zhang S, Cano C, Zhuang C, Zhao Q. Advanced approaches of developing targeted covalent drugs. RSC Medicinal Chemistry 2022, 13(12), 1460-1475.
• Miller DC, Reuillon T, Molyneux L, Blackburn T, Cook SJ, Edwards N, Endicott JA, Golding BT, Griffin RJ, Hardcastle I, Harnor SJ, Heptinstall A, Lochhead P, Martin MP, Martin NC, Myers S, Newell DR, Noble RA, Phillips N, Rigoreau L, Thomas H, Tucker JA, Wang L-Z, Waring MJ, Wong A-C, Wedge SR, Noble MEM, Cano C. Parallel Optimization of Potency and Pharmacokinetics Leading to the Discovery of a Pyrrole Carboxamide ERK5 Kinase Domain Inhibitor. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2022, 65(9), 6513-6540.
• Al-Khawaldeh I, Aldred GG, Alyassiri M, Basmadjian C, Bordoni C, Harnor SJ, Heptinstall AB, Hobson SJ, Jennings CE, Khalifa S, Lebraud H, Miller DC, Shrives HJ, de Souza JV, Stewart HL, Temple M, Totobenazara J, Tucker JA, Tudhope SJ, Wang LZ, Bronowska AK, Cano C, Endicott JA, Golding BT, Hardcastle IR, Hickson I, Wedge SR, Willmore E, Noble MEM, Waring MJ. An alkynylpyrimidine-based covalent inhibitor that targets a unique cysteine in NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK). Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2021, 64(14), 10001-10018.
• Chessari G, Hardcastle IR, Ahn JS, Anil B, Anscome E, Bawn RH, Bevan LD, Blackburn TJ, Buck I, Cano C, Carbain B, Castro J, Cons B, Cully SJ, St Denis J, Endicott JA, Fazal L, Golding BT, Griffin RJ, Haggerty K, Harnor S, Hearn K, Hobson S, Holvey RS, Howard S, Jennings C, Johnson CN, Lunec J, Miller DC, Newell DR, Noble MEM, Reeks J, Revill CH, Riedinger C, Tamanini E, Thomas H, Thompson NT, Vinkovic M, Wedge SR, Williams PA, Wilsher N, Zhang B, Zhao Y. Structure-Based Design of Potent and Orally Active Isoindolinone Inhibitors of MDM2-p53 Protein–Protein Interaction. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2021, 64(7), 4071-4088.
• Matheson CJ, Coxon CR, Bayliss R, Boxall K, Carbain B, Fry AM, Hardcastle IR, Harnor SJ, Mas-Droux C, Newell DR, Richards MW, Sivaprakasam M, Turner D, Griffin RJ, Golding BT, Cano C. 2-Arylamino-6-ethynylpurines are cysteine-targeting irreversible inhibitors of Nek2 kinase. RSC Medicinal Chemistry 2020, 11(6), 707-731.
• Ford BE, Chachra SS, Alshawi A, Brennan A, Harnor S, Cano C, Baker DJ, Smith DM, Fairclough RJ, Agius L. Chronic glucokinase activator treatment activates liver Carbohydrate response element binding protein and improves hepatocyte ATP homeostasis during substrate challenge. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 2020, 22(11), 1985-1994.
• Myers SM, Miller DC, Molyneux L, Arasta M, Bawn RH, Blackburn TJ, Cook SJ, Edwards N, Endicott JA, Golding BT, Griffin RJ, Hammonds T, Hardcastle IR, Harnor SJ, Heptinstall AB, Lochhead PA, Martin MP, Martin NC, Newell DR, Owen PJ, Pang LC, Reuillon T, Rigoreau LJM, Thomas HD, Tucker JA, Wang L-Z, Wong A-C, Noble MEM, Wedge SR, Cano C. Identification of a novel orally bioavailable ERK5 inhibitor with selectivity over p38α and BRD4. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2019, 178, 530-543.
• Hill SL, Dunn M, Cano C, Harnor SJ, Hardcastle IR, Grundlingh J, Dargan PI, Wood DM, Tucker S, Bartram T, Thomas SHL. Human Toxicity Caused by Indole and Indazole Carboxylate Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists: From Horizon Scanning to Notification. Clinical Chemistry 2018, 64(2), 346-354.
• Cano C, Harnor SJ, Willmore E, Wedge SR. Targeting DNA-PK as a Therapeutic Approach in Oncology. In: Pollard J; Curtin N, ed. Targeting the DNA Damage Response for Anti-Cancer Therapy. New York: Humana Press Inc, 2018, pp.339-357.
• Coxon C, Anscombe E, Harnor S, Martin M, Carbain B, Golding B, Hardcastle I, Harlow L, Korolchuk S, Matheson C, Newell D, Noble M, Sivaprakasam M, Tudhope SJ, Turner D, Wang L, Wedge SR, Wong C, Griffin R, Endicott J, Cano C. Cyclin-Dependent Kinase (CDK) Inhibitors; Structure-Activity Relationships and Insights into the CDK-2 Selectivity of 6-Substituted 2-Arylaminopurines. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2017, 60, 1746-1767.
• Harnor SJ, Brennan A, Cano C. Inhibition of the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase for Cancer Therapy. Medicinal Chemistry 2017, 7, 172-177.
• Harnor S, Pickles J, Cano C. Modulation of the DNA-Damage Response by Inhibitors of the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Related Kinase (PIKK) Family. In: Waring M, ed. Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. Springer, 2017, pp.1-38.
• Harnor S, Brennan A, Cano C. Targeting DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase for Cancer Therapy. ChemMedChem 2017, 12(12), 895-900.
• Zaytsev AV, Pickles JE, Harnor SJ, Henderson AP, Alyasiri M, Waddell PG, Cano C, Griffin RJ, Golding BT. Concise syntheses of bridged morpholines. RSC Advances 2016, 6(59), 53955-53957.
• Tudhope S, Zhao Y, Wittner A, Wilmore E, Bertoli A, Adhikari S, Harnor SJ, Del Bello F, Piergentili A, Lunec J, Hardcastle IR, Griffin RJ, Golding BR, Cano C, Newell DR, Wedge SR. Profiling inhibitors of MDM2: p53 and MDMX: p53 in relation to MDMX protein levels. In: AACR Annual Meeting 2014. 2014, San Diego, CA: American Association for Cancer Research.
• Harnor SJ, Rennison T, Galler M, Cano C, Griffin RJ, Newell DR, Golding BT. Synthesis of 3 '-deoxy-3'-fluorothymidine (FLT) 5 '-O-glucuronide: a reference standard for imaging studies with [¹⁸F]FLT. MedChemComm 2014, 5(7), 984-988.
• Bertoli A, Adhikari S, Harnor SJ, Zhao Y, Lunec J, Wedge SR, Tudhope S, Wittner A, Golding BT, Hardcastle IR, Cano C, Newell DR, Griffin RJ. Validation studies with small-molecule modulators of the MDM2/MDMX-p53 binding interaction. In: 247th ACS National Meeting and Exposition. 2014, Dallas, TX, USA: American Chemical Society.
• Haagensen EJ, Thomas HD, Wilson I, Harnor SJ, Payne SL, Rennison T, Smith KM, Maxwell RJ, Newell DR. The Enhanced In Vivo Activity of the Combination of a MEK and a PI3K Inhibitor Correlates with [¹⁸F]-FLT PET in Human Colorectal Cancer Xenograft Tumour-Bearing Mice. PLoS ONE 2013, 8(12), e81763.