Objective Over the past decade, metals which were previously restricted to conventional organic synthesis have begun to be used in an increasing number of biological settings. This has been dominated by copper mediated catalysis of the azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition (1,3-dipolar addition) chemistry (the well know “click reaction”) but other, less toxic, metals such as palladium are now beginning to establish themselves in the chemical biology/ chemical medicine arenas. In this proposal, building on chemistry from the Bradley group (see Nature Chemistry, 2011 and Nature Communication, 2014) the potential of palladium mediated chemistry in living systems will be exploited. This will cover three main avenues of exploration: (i). The fabrication of active palladium catalysts conjugated to antibodies and small targeting peptides; (ii) Development of assays to allow the activity of the active catalysts to be determined both in vitro and inside cells and (iii). The application of these active palladium catalysts enable the conjugation of two drug “halves” to allow the in situ synthesis (inside cells) of active anticancer drugs. This fellowship will bring together chemistry, biology and medicine, with potential longer-term biomedical applications with the training of the applicant in learning new chemistry and biological technique. This will be tied into an improvement of my independent thinking and leadership skills, gain of experience in writing grants and research articles and peer-reviewing and working in a multidisciplinary manner, with major opportunities to broaden my “soft-skills” set. Fields of science natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metalsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesmedical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologynatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisengineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2014-EF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2014 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Net EU contribution € 183 454,80 Address OLD COLLEGE, SOUTH BRIDGE EH8 9YL Edinburgh United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Edinburgh Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 183 454,80