Emma Watson

Dr Emma Watson

Lecturer

School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Emma Watson obtained her PhD from the University of Sydney, under the supervision of Professor Richard Payne, where her research focused on the chemical synthesis of post-translationally modified proteins. She then undertook a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Professor Nicolas Winssinger at the University of Geneva, as an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow.

Emma has recently returned to Australia as a Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry, in the School of Physical Sciences. Her research focuses on using biomolecules as building blocks to develop smart, responsive systems for therapeutic applications.

One of the fundamental principles of life is being able to sense and respond to changes in the environment. By developing smart drugs and therapeutic agents capable of this type of molecular logic we can help improve their selectivity, and therefore reduce toxicity. Such systems have three key components: the inputs (this is the part capable of binding to a target molecule or sensing a change), the outputs (this is the part that does something in response to this new information i.e. release a drug) and the circuitry (this is the part that connects the inputs and the outputs, helping to transfer the information).  Much like a computer, these components can be wired together to form a functional system, with the individual parts able to be swapped in and out in a modular manner to rapidly create new systems, capable of targeting new problems. 

My research focuses on using biomolecules (peptides, proteins, nucleic acids) as the key components in such responsive systems. These systems are underpinned by a combination of organic synthesis, solid phase peptide and nucleic acid synthesis, photocatalysis and bioconjugation to create final functional systems. 

research summary

 

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2023 Lopez Tena, M., Watson, E. E., Romanens, P., & Winssinger, N. (2023). Rapid Synthesis of Propargyl‐modified Peptide Nucleic Acid Monomers for Late‐Stage Functionalization of Oligomers. Helvetica Chimica Acta, 106(11), 14 pages.
    DOI
    2023 Maxwell, J. W. C., Hawkins, P. M. E., Watson, E. E., & Payne, R. J. (2023). Exploiting Chemical Protein Synthesis to Study the Role of Tyrosine Sulfation on Anticoagulants from Hematophagous Organisms. Accounts of Chemical Research, 56(19), 2688-2699.
    DOI Scopus1
    2022 Watson, E. E., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Synthesis of Protein-Oligonucleotide Conjugates. Biomolecules, 12(10), 1523.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC1
    2022 Dowman, L. J., Kulkarni, S. S., Alegre-Requena, J. V., Giltrap, A. M., Norman, A. R., Sharma, A., . . . Payne, R. J. (2022). Site-selective photocatalytic functionalization of peptides and proteins at selenocysteine. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1-12.
    DOI Scopus11 Europe PMC4
    2022 Watson, E. E., Russo, F., Moreau, D., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Optochemical Control of Therapeutic Agents through Photocatalyzed Isomerization. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 61(28), 1-8.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS3 Europe PMC4
    2022 Watson, E. E., Russo, F., Moreau, D., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Optochemical Control of Therapeutic Agents through Photocatalyzed Isomerization. Angewandte Chemie, 134(28), 1-8.
    DOI
    2022 Watson, E. E., Russo, F., Moreau, D., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Titelbild: Optochemical Control of Therapeutic Agents through Photocatalyzed Isomerization (Angew. Chem. 28/2022). Angewandte Chemie, 134(28).
    DOI
    2022 Kulkarni, S. S., Watson, E. E., Maxwell, J. W. C., Niederacher, G., Johansen‐Leete, J., Huhmann, S., . . . Payne, R. J. (2022). Expressed Protein Selenoester Ligation. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 61(20), e202200163-1-e202200163-6.
    DOI Scopus19 WoS6 Europe PMC12
    2022 Watson, E. E., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Biosupramolecular networks: Taking inspiration from nature to create powerful synthetic platforms. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 66, 1-8.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS3
    2022 Watson, E. E., Russo, F., Moreau, D., & Winssinger, N. (2022). Cover Picture: Optochemical Control of Therapeutic Agents through Photocatalyzed Isomerization (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 28/2022). Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 61(28).
    DOI
    2021 Watson, E. E., Angerani, S., Sabale, P. M., & Winssinger, N. (2021). Biosupramolecular Systems: Integrating Cues into Responses. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 143(12), 4467-4482.
    DOI Scopus22 Europe PMC6
    2021 Agten, S. M., Watson, E. E., Ripoll‐Rozada, J., Dowman, L. J., Wu, M. C. L., Alwis, I., . . . Payne, R. J. (2021). Back Cover: Potent Trivalent Inhibitors of Thrombin through Hybridization of Salivary Sulfopeptides from Hematophagous Arthropods (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 10/2021). Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60(10), 5570.
    DOI
    2021 Agten, S. M., Watson, E. E., Ripoll‐Rozada, J., Dowman, L. J., Wu, M. C. L., Alwis, I., . . . Payne, R. J. (2021). Rücktitelbild: Potent Trivalent Inhibitors of Thrombin through Hybridization of Salivary Sulfopeptides from Hematophagous Arthropods (Angew. Chem. 10/2021). Angewandte Chemie, 133(10), 5632.
    DOI
    2021 Agten, S. M., Watson, E. E., Ripoll‐Rozada, J., Dowman, L. J., Wu, M. C. L., Alwis, I., . . . Payne, R. J. (2021). Potent Trivalent Inhibitors of Thrombin through Hybridization of Salivary Sulfopeptides from Hematophagous Arthropods. Angewandte Chemie, 133(10), 5408-5416.
    DOI
    2021 Agten, S. M., Watson, E. E., Ripoll‐Rozada, J., Dowman, L. J., Wu, M. C. L., Alwis, I., . . . Payne, R. J. (2021). Potent Trivalent Inhibitors of Thrombin through Hybridization of Salivary Sulfopeptides from Hematophagous Arthropods. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60(10), 5348-5356.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC3
    2021 Liu, W., Watson, E. E., & Winssinger, N. (2021). Photocatalysis in Chemical Biology: Extending the Scope of Optochemical Control and Towards New Frontiers in Semisynthetic Bioconjugates and Biocatalysis. Helvetica Chimica Acta, 104(12), 14 pages.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS5
    2021 Duggan, N. M., Saez, N. J., Clayton, D., Budusan, E., Watson, E. E., Tucker, I. J., . . . Payne, R. J. (2021). Total Synthesis of the Spider-Venom Peptide Hi1a. Organic Letters, 23(21), 8375-8379.
    DOI Scopus7 Europe PMC2
    2020 Wang, X., Ashhurst, A. S., Dowman, L. J., Watson, E. E., Li, H. Y., Fairbanks, A. J., . . . Payne, R. J. (2020). Total Synthesis of Glycosylated Human Interferon-γ. Organic Letters, 22(17), 6863-6867.
    DOI Scopus18 Europe PMC5
    2019 Kulkarni, S. S., Watson, E. E., Premdjee, B., Conde-Frieboes, K. W., & Payne, R. J. (2019). Diselenide–selenoester ligation for chemical protein synthesis. Nature Protocols, 14(7), 2229-2257.
    DOI Scopus51 Europe PMC18
    2019 Watson, E. E., Ripoll-Rozada, J., Lee, A. C., Wu, M. C. L., Franck, C., Pasch, T., . . . Payne, R. J. (2019). Rapid assembly and profiling of an anticoagulant sulfoprotein library. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(28), 13873-13878.
    DOI Scopus23 WoS20 Europe PMC7
    2019 Pinto, M. F., Ripoll-Rozada, J., Ramos, H., Watson, E. E., Franck, C., Payne, R. J., . . . Martins, P. M. (2019). A simple linearization method unveils hidden enzymatic assay interferences. Biophysical Chemistry, 252, 106193.
    DOI Scopus6
    2018 Conibear, A. C., Watson, E. E., Payne, R. J., & Becker, C. F. W. (2018). Native chemical ligation in protein synthesis and semi-synthesis. Chemical Society Reviews, 47(24), 9046-9068.
    DOI Scopus209 WoS154 Europe PMC83
    2018 Watson, E. E., Liu, X., Thompson, R. E., Ripoll-Rozada, J., Wu, M., Alwis, I., . . . Payne, R. J. (2018). Mosquito-Derived Anophelin Sulfoproteins Are Potent Antithrombotics. ACS Central Science, 4(4), 468-476.
    DOI Scopus30
    2017 Tran, A. T., Watson, E. E., Pujari, V., Conroy, T., Dowman, L. J., Giltrap, A. M., . . . Payne, R. J. (2017). Sansanmycin natural product analogues as potent and selective anti-mycobacterials that inhibit lipid i biosynthesis. Nature Communications, 8(1), 9 pages.
    DOI Scopus41 WoS36 Europe PMC16
    2017 Hanna, C. C., Kulkarni, S. S., Watson, E. E., Premdjee, B., & Payne, R. J. (2017). Solid-phase synthesis of peptide selenoesters via a side-chain anchoring strategy. Chemical Communications, 53(39), 5424-5427.
    DOI Scopus30 WoS26 Europe PMC11
    2015 Manos-Turvey, A., Watson, E. E., Sykes, M. L., Jones, A. J., Baell, J. B., Kaiser, M., . . . Payne, R. J. (2015). Synthesis and evaluation of phenoxymethylbenzamide analogues as anti-trypanosomal agents. MedChemComm, 6(3), 403-406.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6
    - Watson, E. E., & Payne, R. J. (n.d.). 4-Nitrophenylchloroformate. Unknown Journal, 1-5.
    DOI

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2021 Watson, E. E., Malins, L. R., & Payne, R. J. (2021). Expanding Native Chemical Ligation Methodology with Synthetic Amino Acid Derivatives. In A. Brik, P. Dawson, & L. Lei (Eds.), Total Chemical Synthesis of Proteins (pp. 119-159). Weinheim, Germany: Wiley.
    DOI Scopus3

2023  ARC - Discovery Project DP230100186: Site-specific protein functionalisation at diselenides via photocatalysis

2021 European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) Post-Doctoral Fellowship
2021 HFSP Post-Doctoral Fellowship (declined)

2023 - Semester 2

3214: Medicinal & Biological Chemistry III

2540: Medicinal & Biological Chemistry II

 

2023 - Semester 1

1100: Chemistry 1A

 

2022 - Semester 2

3214: Medicinal & Biological Chemistry III

2540: Medicinal & Biological Chemistry II

 

2021-2022

First year laboratory supervisor, The University of Geneva

 

2015 - 2017 

Postgraduate teaching fellow, The University of Sydney

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Co-Supervisor Biomimetic Synthesis of Natural Products Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matthew Alexander Coleman
    2023 Co-Supervisor Investigating Selenium Speciation with HERFD-XAS Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Ani Tania Baker
    2023 Principal Supervisor Developing new methods for drug release targeting cell surface receptor density. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Maya Liza Doyle
    2023 Principal Supervisor The Controlled Release of Therapeutic Agents Utilising Nucleic Acid Analogs Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Liam Matthew Carson
    2023 Co-Supervisor Fundamental understanding of DNA triplex formation and its antigene properties to control gene expression Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sarveenah R G Chandrasegaran
  • Position: Lecturer
  • Email: emma.watson@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Badger, floor Second Floor
  • Room: 230
  • Org Unit: Chemistry
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