Alice Motion

Motion received their MChem from the University of Leeds in 2007 where they worked with Philip Kocienski on the synthesis of an N-acetylcolchinol-combretastatin hybrid. They moved to the University of Cambridge where they obtained their PhD in 2012 while working with Matthew J. Gaunt on strategies for asymmetric arylation.{{cite journal|last1 = Bigot|first1 = Aurélien|last2 = Williamson|first2 = Alice E.|last3 = Gaunt|first3 = Matthew J.|title = Enantioselective α-Arylation of N-Acyloxazolidinones with Copper(II)-bisoxazoline Catalysts and Diaryliodonium Salts|journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society|year = 2011|volume = 133|issue = 35|pages = 13778–13781|doi = 10.1021/ja206047h|pmid = 21848264| s2cid=2409722 }}

In 2012, Motion moved to the University of Sydney in Australia to work with Matthew H. Todd on the Open Source Malaria project as Postdoctoral Research Fellow.{{cite journal|last1 = Williamson|first1 = Alice E.|last2 = Todd|first2 = Matthew H.|author-link2=Matthew H. Todd|title = Open Source Drug Discovery: Highly Potent Antimalarial Compounds Derived from the Tres Cantos Arylpyrroles|journal = ACS Central Science|year = 2016|volume = 2|issue = 10|pages = 687–701|doi = 10.1021/acscentsci.6b00086|pmid = 27800551|pmc = 5084075|display-authors = etal}} In 2014, they became a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the same institution until her promotion to Lecturer in Chemical Education and Outreach at the same institution in 2017.

Pyrimethamine is a pharmaceutical medicine used in combination with leucovorin to treat toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis and in combination with dapsone to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in HIV/AIDS patients.{{cite web|title = Pyrimethamine|date = 5 March 2019|website = Drugs.com|url = https://www.drugs.com/monograph/pyrimethamine.html|access-date = 26 April 2019|url-status = live|archive-date = 26 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426023258/https://www.drugs.com/monograph/pyrimethamine.html}}{{cite book|last = Hamilton|first = Richard J.|title = Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia 2015 Deluxe Lab-Coat Edition|year = 2015|publisher = Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn = 9781284057560|page = 54|edition = 16th}} In 2015, Turing Pharmaceuticals drastically increased the price of pyrimethamine, which it markets as Daraprim, from about US$13.50 to $750 per tablet.{{cite news|last = Timmerman|first = Luke|title = A Timeline of the Turing Pharma Controversy|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/luketimmerman/2015/09/23/a-timeline-of-the-turing-pharma-controversy/|date = 23 September 2015|access-date = 26 April 2019|work = Forbes|url-status = live|archive-date = 21 November 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181121111307/https://www.forbes.com/sites/luketimmerman/2015/09/23/a-timeline-of-the-turing-pharma-controversy/}}{{cite news|title = Turing Refuses to Lower List Price of Toxoplasmosis Drug|first = Andrew|last = Pollack|date = 24 November 2015|access-date = 26 April 2019|newspaper = The New York Times|url-status = live|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/business/turing-refuses-to-lower-list-price-of-toxoplasmosis-drug.html|archive-date = 26 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426025032/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/business/turing-refuses-to-lower-list-price-of-toxoplasmosis-drug.html}} In response, Motion, along with their academic advisor, Matthew H. Todd, and the Open Source Malaria team led a small team of high school students from Sydney Grammar School to synthesise the drug.{{cite news|last = Reiner|first = Vivienne|title = Students make $750 drug cheaply with Open Source Malaria team|url = https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/11/30/students-make--750-drug-cheaply-with-open-source-malaria-team-.html|access-date = 13 February 2019|publisher = The University of Sydney|date = 30 November 2016}}{{cite news|last = Davey|first = Melissa|date = 1 December 2016|title = Australian students recreate Martin Shkreli price-hike drug in school lab|newspaper = The Guardian|url = https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/01/australian-students-recreate-martin-shkreli-price-hike-drug-in-school-lab|access-date = 12 February 2019}} The team produced 3.7 grams of pyrimethamine for under US$20, which would be worth between $US35,000 and $US110,000 in the United States according to Turing Pharmaceuticals's pricing.{{cite news|last = Hunjan|first = Raveen|date = 30 November 2016|title = Daraprim drug's key ingredient recreated by high school students in Sydney for just $20|url = https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-30/daraprim-nsw-students-create-drug-martin-shkreli-sold/8078892|access-date = 12 February 2019|work = Australian Broadcasting Corporation|publisher = ABC News}} This received significant media attention and was featured in The Guardian and Time magazine,{{cite magazine|title = Watch Martin Shkreli Respond to the School Kids Who Recreated His Drug for $2 a Dose|last = Lui|first = Kevin|url=https://time.com/4588458/martin-shkreli-response-sydney-students-daraprim/|date = 2 December 2016|magazine = Time|access-date = 23 April 2019}} and on ABC News (Australia), the BBC,{{cite news|last = Dunlop|first = Greg|date = 1 December 2016|title = Martin Shkreli: Australian boys recreate life-saving drug|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38153254|access-date = 12 February 2019|work = BBC News}} and CNN.{{cite news|last = Roberts|first = Elizabeth|date = 1 December 2016|title = 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli meets his match in a group of Australian schoolboys|url = https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/01/health/daraprim-oz/index.html|access-date = 12 February 2019|publisher = CNN}}

Motion, like their former research advisor, is a proponent of open science.{{cite news|last = Williamson|first = Alice|title = Open science: the future of research?|url = http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/06/29/4254093.htm|access-date = 24 April 2019|work = ABC News|date = 29 June 2015|publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite journal|last1 = Todd|first1 = Matthew H.|author-link1 = Matthew H. Todd|last2 = Wells|first2 = Timothy N. C.|last3 = Olliaro|first3 = Piero|last4 = Willis|first4 = Paul|last5 = Badiola|first5 = Katrina A.|last6 = Robins|first6 = Michael|last7 = Woelfle|first7 = Michael|last8 = Williamson|first8 = Alice E.|last9 = Ylioja|first9 = Paul M.|last10 = Robertson|first10 = Murray N.|title = Open source drug discovery – A limited tutorial|journal = Parasitology|year = 2013|volume = 141|issue = 1|pages = 148–157|doi = 10.1017/S0031182013001121|pmid = 23985301|pmc = 3884843|issn = 0031-1820}}{{cite web|last = Stevens|first = Katherine|title = Open-source science to enable drug discovery|url = https://axial.acs.org/2016/10/13/malaria-open-source-drug-discovery/|website = ACS Axial|publisher = American Chemical Society|access-date = 24 April 2019|date = 4 October 2016}}{{cite web|date = 10 June 2014|last = Williamson|first = Alice|title = International team of scientists open sources search for malaria cure|url = https://opensource.com/life/14/6/international-team-open-sources-search-malaria-cure|website = Opensource.com|access-date = 24 April 2019}}{{cite web|last1 = Williamson|first1 = Alice|last2 = Todd|first2 = Matthew|author-link2 = Matthew H. Todd|title = Making drug development less secretive could lead to quicker, cheaper therapies|url = http://theconversation.com/making-drug-development-less-secretive-could-lead-to-quicker-cheaper-therapies-64744|website = The Conversation|access-date = 24 April 2019|date = 14 September 2016}} They believe that open science and research provides transparency of data and results that prevent unnecessary duplication.Williamson, Alice (4 October 2017). [https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/open-science-%E2%80%93-to-benefit-all/9246264 "Open science – to benefit all"] (Presentation to the Royal Institution of Great Britain). Rebroadcast by Paul Barclay (presenter) on Radio National's Big Ideas programme on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019 – via Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In December 2022 Motion was appointed interim director of Sydney Nano.{{Cite web |title=Alice Motion appointed interim Sydney Nano Director |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/nano/news/latest-news/2022/12/07/alice-motion-appointed-interim-sydney-nano-director.html |access-date=2022-12-08 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU}}

• 2015 – ABC RN and UNSW Top 5 Under 40{{cite web|date = 7 March 2015|last = Zukerman|first = Wendy|author-link = Wendy Zukerman|work = Radio National|title = Top 5 Under 40 winners announced|url = https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/top-5-under-40-winners-announced/6282910|publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date = 24 April 2019}}
• 2017 and 2018 – RACI Nyholm Lectureship: "Mother Nature's Molecules – the good, the bad and the ugly"{{cite web|title = RACI Nyholm Youth Lecture Series|url=https://www.raci.org.au/branches/nsw-branch/nyholm-youth-lecture-series|year = 2019|website = raci.org.au|publisher = Royal Australian Chemical Institute|access-date = 26 April 2019}}
• 2020 – Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=2020 Australian Museum Eureka Prize winners|url=http://australian.museum/get-involved/eureka-prizes/2020-eureka-prizes-winners/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124093149/https://australian.museum/get-involved/eureka-prizes/2020-eureka-prizes-winners/ |archive-date=24 November 2020 |access-date=2020-12-09|website=The Australian Museum|language=en}}
• 2024 – Finalist for 2024 Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion, with the CLOAK team, University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney{{Cite web |last=News |first=Mirage |title=Eureka Prize 2024 Finalists Announced |url=https://www.miragenews.com/eureka-prize-2024-finalists-announced-1286441/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Mirage News |language=en-AU}}

• Open access
• Open collaboration
• Open innovation
• Open science data
• Open research
• Open-source model

a. Alice Motion appears to use they/them pronouns as seen throughout their website and other webpages such as their profile on Chemistry World{{Cite web |title=Alice Motion {{!}} Author |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/alice-motion/5725.bio |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Chemistry World |language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• {{google scholar id|dOyytssAAAAJ}}
• {{LinkedIn URL|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-motion-284b5931/?originalSubdomain=au}}
• {{twitter|all_isee}}
• [https://www.breakinggoodproject.com/ Breaking Good]
• [http://opensourcemalaria.org/ Open Source Malaria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313044704/http://opensourcemalaria.org/ |date=13 March 2016 }}
• [https://github.com/OpenSourceMalaria Open Source Malaria] on GitHub

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Motion, Alice}}

Category:English chemists

Category:British women chemists

Category:British organic chemists

Category:Living people

Category:Academic staff of the University of Sydney

Category:1984 births

Category:British science communicators

Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds

Category:Queer scientists