Professor Paul Groundwater
Paul Groundwater gained his BSc (1983) and PhD (1987) degrees from the University of Edinburgh. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra then returned to the UK to join Prof. Malcolm Stevens at the Cancer Research Campaign Experimental Chemotherapy Research Group, Aston University.

In 1989 he was appointed to a Lectureship in the Department of Chemistry, Cardiff University. In 1996 he was appointed to a Readership in Organic Chemistry in the Institute of Pharmacy and Chemistry at the University of Sunderland  and he was promoted to Professor, in the Sunderland Pharmacy School, in 2001. He is the Director of chemiSPEC, and is currently the Team Leader of the Drug Design and Analysis Group in the Sunderland Pharmacy School. His research interests include the generation and reactivity of dipolar intermediates, the design and synthesis of novel medicinal agents, the identification of the active principle of medicinal plants, and new assays for disease markers. He has published more than 70 papers and reviews and 2 books, one of which, Organic Spectroscopic Analysis, uses many NMR and MS spectra obtained through chemiSPEC.

Dr. Nicolas Haroune
Following completion of his PhD at the University of Clairmont Ferrand Nicolas moved to a postdoctoral position at Glasgow University where he studied the modification of proteins during oxidative stress.

As an integral part of his research projects, he has extensively used NMR, HPLC and Mass Spectrometry to identify the structure of various biomolecules, ranging from chemicals, metabolites to peptides and proteins. A list of his publications can be found here.

Nicolas has been working in chemiSPEC for 4 years. Beside his Laboratory Management role, he focuses on implementing new NMR and MS methods so as to help clients solve their scientific and technical problems.

Mrs. Andrea Small
Andrea has been a member of the chemiSPEC team since its creation and is responsible for routine analysis as well as developing the CHN service.

Initially coming to work for the university after completing her A-Levels, she worked in many areas mainly involving GC, HPLC, UV, AAS and FTIR, at the same time studying for a part-time degree. She has worked exclusively for chemiSPEC for the last eight years gaining an in-depth knowledge of analytical techniques.

Gemma Williamson
Gemma is currently studying for a BSc in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science at Sunderland University during which there is an opportunity to work in industry for one year between the second and final year of her degree.

Whilst working at chemiSPEC Gemma is gaining expertise in techniques such as NMR and CHN.

After gaining experience from her placement Gemma would like to complete her degree and then go on to study for a PhD.

Gemma's interests lie in pharmaceutical discovery and development and she is looking towards a possible career in this field.

Dr. Bill Campbell
Following completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Strathclyde, Bill joined ICI and served over 30 years in a range of technical and managerial positions. His experience ranges from the development of new analytical methodologies and the strategic management of large scientific service functions through to the management and development of business operations.

Bill's role in chemiSPEC is to manage the future strategic development of the business and the customer base and interface with existing and new clients to ensure that their needs are properly understood and that they receive a service that is both timely and of high quality.