Lee John Higham Email and Phone Number

I am a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. My research group studies organophosphorus chemistry for applications in asymmetric catalysis, biomedical imaging and new materials and has been awarded over £1M in external research funding including my own award of a 5 year EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship and New Directions for Research Leaders award, a Knowledge Transfer Award and several PhD CASE awards. My team is an international one and has previously won the Silver Prize for UK Chemistry at the UK Houses of Parliament. I have also participated in the Royal Society MP-Scientist Pairing Fellowship scheme with Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison MP.We welcome applications from interested potential new recruits from Erasmus students, PhD applicants and international research fellows!http://leejohnhighamresearch.com/

I am also the Academic Lead for Employability and Enterprise for the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences - a University role - and in 2020 I was appointed as the Associate Director of Excellence for Learning and Teaching (DELT) for Employability, a new School managerial role. In this role I have assembled a team from across the University, drawing in key experience and responsibility from staff across the Careers Service, Library, Student Union, Faculty of Science and Agriculture and Engineering and academics and professional support staff from agricultural and environmental sciences, biology, zoology and marine sciences and, of course, chemistry in order to raise the employability and skills of our graduates and integrate employers into our curriculum through the creation of specialist modules, launching our first Skills Week and organising activities with external partners including the Royal Society of Chemistry, P&G, GSK, AkzoNobel and the Royal Navy.

In this role I have worked closely with over 20 university partners across five continents to help establish Newcastle Chemistry with Study Abroad degree programmes as one of the most exciting ways a student can individualise their degree and increase their employability. This has involved negotiating with our own NU and external senior management including University Rectors and Executive Directors of International Education at Ivy League institutes to provide exchange opportunities for undergraduates to work on chemistry research and develop their transferable skills abroad or with us.Similarly, graduates from our Chemistry with Industrial Training Year programme will have secured an industrial placement locally, nationally or even internationally and boosted their confidence, skill-set and job prospects as a result. Managing these programmes as a dedicated team involves working proactively with NU academic colleagues and professional support staff and external stakeholders to ensure NU undergraduate students have the best possible chance of being recruited onto these prestigious and competitive study abroad or company placements and are also supported during their year away by creating shared online communities so those out on placement can advise those in the years below considering one.

I was responsible for the expansion of our Outreach programme and securing over £200,000 in funding for a dedicated outreach lab space for schoolchildren (£0.2M), for which I spent 18 months working with potential commercial investors, the local MP, charities and alumni, to enable the transformation of a neglected space into a free-to-use dedicated laboratory for regional schools and colleges who did not have access to state-of-the-art facilities. The program helped the School raise its intake to the maximum, with the standard increasing from 50% A/B to 100%. My subsequent funding proposal saw the School awarded a RSC Teacher Fellow (1yr salary) as my understudy, who was then subsequently appointed as the School’s (now Faculty) full-time Outreach Officer. I also worked with University PVCs and Council leaders and other stakeholders to help bring the British Science Festival to Newcastle in 2013. In this role I ensured the School became more involved in the widening participation programmes including Partners, Bitesize Uni, Taster Sessions, Student Shadowing, Science Week, Salters’ Festivals and the Chemistry Summer School. I also introduced a Continuing Professional Development training day at NU for the technicians of local schools and colleges on behalf of the Science Learning Centre and was also invited to give the Open University's Christmas Lecture on Chemistry.The Chemistry Outreach Programme was rated as ‘exemplary’ in the University's Internal Subject Review.

Synthesis of novel chiral organophosphorus ligands for transition metal based asymmetric catalysis.

Using the Ramirez ylide to synthesise azulenes. Synthesis of P-stereogenic MOP phosphines.

Hydrophosphination of dienes with primary phosphines; synthesis of phobanes and cage phosphines.

Investigation into the role of the phosphine ligand in the palladium-catalysed alkoxycarbonylation reaction. Synthesis of the novel Anphos and Ditbi phosphine ligands.