Matthew Fuchter

Fuchter earned a master's degree (MSci) in chemistry at the University of Bristol, where he was awarded the Richard Dixon prize.{{Cite web|title=Prof. A.G.M. Barrett, FRS|url=https://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/barrett/index.php?bt=matthew_fuchter&group=on|access-date=2020-06-24|website=ic.ac.uk}} It was during his undergraduate degree that he first became interested in organic synthesis.{{Cite journal|last=Zanda|first=Matteo|title=Synform Issue 2015/11|date=2015-10-20|journal=Synthesis|language=en|volume=47|issue=21|pages=A150–A166|doi=10.1055/s-0035-1560202|issn=0039-7881|doi-access=free}} As a graduate student he moved to Imperial College London, where he worked with Anthony Barrett on the synthesis and applications of porphyrazines, including as therapeutic agents.{{Cite thesis|degree=PhD|url=https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b2932702|last=Fuchter|first=Matthew John|oclc=500152201|title=Synthetic studies on porphyrazines: biological applications and new preparative methods|date=2006|publisher=University of London|website=london.ac.uk|language=English|id={{EThOS|423302}}}}{{Cite web|title=Chemistry Tree - Anthony GM Barrett|url=https://academictree.org/chemistry/peopleinfo.php?pid=65892|access-date=2020-06-24|website=academictree.org}} During his doctoral studies Barrett and Fuchter collaborated with Brian M. Hoffman at Northwestern University.{{Cite web|title=Interview with Matthew J. Fuchter - SYNFORM - Thieme Chemistry|url=https://www.thieme.de/en/thieme-chemistry/journals-synform-interview-with-matthew-fuchter-87541.htm|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Thieme|language=en-GB}}

After completing his PhD, Fuchter moved to Australia, for postdoctoral research at CSIRO and the University of Melbourne, where he worked with Andrew Bruce Holmes.{{Cite web|last=Newton|date=2020-04-29|first=Jennifer|title=Introducing chirality to give organic electronics a twist|url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/introducing-chirality-to-give-organic-electronics-a-twist/4011594.article|access-date=2020-06-24|website=chemistryworld.com|publisher=Chemistry World|language=en}}

In 2007 Fuchter returned to the United Kingdom, where he began his independent academic career at the School of Pharmacy, University of London (now UCL School of Pharmacy). Less than one year later he was appointed a Lecturer at Imperial College London, where he was promoted to Reader (Associate Professor) in 2015 and professor in 2019.{{Cite web|title=The central science: using molecules to develop materials and medicine|url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/96104/the-central-science-using-molecules-to-develop-materials-and-medicine/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Imperial College London|language=en-GB}} Fuchter develops photoswitchable molecules, chiral materials and new pharmaceuticals.

Fuchter is interested in how considerations of chirality can be applied to the development of novel approaches in chiral optoelectronic materials and devices. In particular, he focusses on the introduction of chiral-optical (so-called chiroptical) properties into optoelectronic materials. Amongst these materials, Fuchter has extensively evaluated the use of chiral small molecule additives (helicenes) to induce chiroptical properties into light emitting polymers for the realisation of chiral (circularly polarised, CP) OLEDs. He has also investigated the application of such materials in circularly polarised photodetectors, which are devices that are capable of detecting circularly polarised light. As well as using chiral functional materials for light emission and detection, Fuchter has investigated the charge transport properties of enantiopure and racemic chiral functional materials.

Fuchter has also developed novel molecular photoswitches – molecules that can be cleanly and reversibly interconverted between two states using light – with a focus on heteroaromatic versions of azobenzene. The arylazopyrazole switches developed by Fuchter out perform the ubiquitous azobenzene switches, demonstrating complete photoswitching in both directions and thermal half-lives of the Z isomer of up to 46 years. Fuchter continues to apply these switches to a range of photoaddressable applications from photopharmacology to energy storage.

Alongside his work on functional material discovery, Fuchter works in medicinal chemistry and develops small molecule ligands that can either inhibit or stimulate the activity of disease relevant proteins.{{Cite web|title=a collaboration with Dr Holger Auner and Prof Matthew Fuchter, Imperial College London|url=https://www.greenlightcomputers.greenlighttelecoms.co.uk/projects/a-collaboration-with-dr-holger-auner-and-prof-matthew-fuchter-imperial-college-london/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Apollo Therapeutics|language=en-GB}} While he has worked on many drug targets, he has specialised in proteins involved in the transcriptional and epigenetic processes of disease. A particular interest has been the development of inhibitors for the histone-lysine methyltransferase enzymes in the Plasmodium parasite that causes human malaria.{{Cite web|last=Fuchter|first=Matt|title=Novel Antimalarial Drugs Through Epigenetics: Full Interview with Dr Matt Fuchter|url=https://www.pharma-iq.com/pre-clinical-discovery-and-development/interviews/novel-antimalarial-drugs-through-epigenetics-full|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Pharma IQ|language=en}}

In 2018 one of the cancer drugs developed by Fuchter, together with Anthony Barrett, Simak Ali and Charles Coombes entered a phase 1 clinical trial, and as of 2020, it is in phase 2.{{Cite web|title=Imperial-developed cancer drug enters phase I clinical trial – NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre|website=nihr.ac.uk|url=https://imperialbrc.nihr.ac.uk/2018/01/12/imperial-developed-cancer-drug-enters-phase-i-clinical-trial/|access-date=2020-06-24|language=en-GB}} The drug, which was designed using computational chemistry, inhibits the cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), a transcriptional regulatory protein that also regulates the cell cycle. Certain cancers rely on CDK7, so inhibition of this enzyme has potential to have a significant impact on cancer pathogenesis.

In 2024 Fuchter joined the University of Oxford as a Professor of Chemistry and the Sydney Bailey Fellow in Chemistry at St Peter’s College Oxford.

Fuchter serves on the editorial board of MedChemComm.{{Cite web|title=Introducing MedChemComm Associate Editor Dr Matthew Fuchter – RSC Medicinal Chemistry Blog|url=https://blogs.rsc.org/md/2015/05/16/introducing-medchemcomm-associate-editor-dr-matthew-fuchter/|access-date=2020-06-24|language=en-US}} He is an elected council member of the Royal Society of Chemistry organic division. Fuchter is co-director of the Imperial College London Centre for Drug Discovery Science.{{Cite web|title=Associated Groups|url=https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/research/associated-research-groups/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=LMS London Institute of Medical Sciences|language=en}}

• 2014 Royal Society of ChemistryHarrison-Meldola Memorial Prize{{Cite web|title=Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize Winner 2014|url=https://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/HarrisonMeldolaMemorialPrizes/2014-winner-fuchter.asp|access-date=2020-06-24|website=rsc.org}}{{Cite web|title=Five Imperial academics win Royal Society of Chemistry awards|url=https://sciencebusiness.net/news/76560/Five-Imperial-academics-win-Royal-Society-of-Chemistry-awards|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Science{{!}}Business|language=en}}
• 2014 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
• 2015 Thieme Medical Publishers Chemistry Journal Awardee
• 2017 Imperial College London President's Award for Excellence in Research{{Cite web|title=Organic Division Council Members|url=https://www.rsc.org/Membership/Networking/InterestGroups/OrganicDivision/ODCouncil.asp|access-date=2020-06-24|website=rsc.org}}
• 2017 Imperial College London President’s Medal for Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• 2018 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award{{Cite web|title=Matt Fuchter wins Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award |publisher=Imperial College London|url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/182187/matt-fuchter-wins-tetrahedron-young-investigator/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=imperial.ac.uk|language=en}}
• 2018 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Established career fellowship{{Cite web|title=Matthew Fuchter - EPSRC website|url=https://epsrc.ukri.org/about/people/matthewfuchter/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=epsrc.ukri.org}}
• 2020 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists{{Cite web|title=Matthew Fuchter {{!}} Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists|url=http://blavatnikawards.org/honorees/profile/matthew-fuchter/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=blavatnikawards.org}}
• 2021 Royal Society of Chemistry Corday–Morgan Prize{{Cite web|title=Professor Matthew Fuchter {{!}} 2021 Corday-Morgan Prize winner|url=https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/2021-winners/professor-matthew-fuchter/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Royal Society of Chemistry|language=en-GB}}
• 2022 Royal Society of Chemistry Stephanie L. Kwolek Award{{Cite web |title=The Chiral Materials Team - 2022 Materials Chemistry Division Horizon Prize: Stephanie L Kwolek Award winner |url=https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/2022-winners/the-chiral-materials-team/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=Royal Society of Chemistry |language=en-GB}}
• 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector Malcolm Campbell Memorial Prize{{Cite web |last=Williamson |first=Douglas |title=Malcolm Campbell Memorial Prize |url=https://www.rscbmcs.org/awards/malcolmcampbell/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=RSC BMCS |language=en-GB}}
• 2023 Elected Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts{{Cite web |date=2022-04-13 |title=Members - European Academy of Sciences |url=https://www.eurasc.eu/members/matthew-fuchter/member/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |language=en-US}}

• {{Cite journal|last1=Malmquist|first1=N. A.|last2=Moss|first2=T. A.|last3=Mecheri|first3=S.|last4=Scherf|first4=A.|last5=Fuchter|first5=M. J.|date=2012|title=Small-molecule histone methyltransferase inhibitors display rapid antimalarial activity against all blood stage forms in Plasmodium falciparum|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=109|issue=41|pages=16708–16713|doi=10.1073/pnas.1205414109|issn=0027-8424|pmid=23011794 |pmc=3478629|bibcode=2012PNAS..10916708M|doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Cherblanc|first1=Fanny L|last2=Chapman|first2=Kathryn L|last3=Brown|first3=Robert|last4=Fuchter|first4=Matthew J|date=2013|title=Chaetocin is a nonspecific inhibitor of histone lysine methyltransferases|journal=Nature Chemical Biology|language=en|volume=9|issue=3|pages=136–137|doi=10.1038/nchembio.1187|issn=1552-4450|pmid= 23416387}} {{closed access}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Dembélé|first1=Laurent|last2=Franetich|first2=Jean-François|last3=Lorthiois|first3=Audrey|last4=Gego|first4=Audrey|last5=Zeeman|first5=Anne-Marie|last6=Kocken|first6=Clemens H. M.|last7=Le Grand|first7=Roger|last8=Dereuddre-Bosquet|first8=Nathalie|last9=van Gemert|first9=Geert-Jan|last10=Sauerwein|first10=Robert|last11=Vaillant|first11=Jean-Christophe|date=2014|title=Persistence and activation of malaria hypnozoites in long-term primary hepatocyte cultures|journal=Nature Medicine|language=en|volume=20|issue=3|pages=307–312|doi=10.1038/nm.3461|issn=1546-170X|pmid= 24509527|s2cid=13909994}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Gerkman|first1=Mihael A.|last2=Gibson|first2=Rosina S. L.|last3=Calbo|first3=Joaquín|last4=Shi|first4=Yuran|last5=Fuchter|first5=Matthew J.|last6=Han|first6=Grace G. D.|date=2020|title=Arylazopyrazoles for Long-Term Thermal Energy Storage and Optically Triggered Heat Release below 0 °C|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=142|issue=19|pages=8688–8695|doi=10.1021/jacs.0c00374|pmid=32319773|hdl=10044/1/78223|s2cid=216073944|issn=0002-7863|hdl-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Ying|last2=da Costa|first2=Rosenildo Correa|last3=Fuchter|first3=Matthew J.|last4=Campbell|first4=Alasdair J.|date=2013|title=Circularly polarized light detection by a chiral organic semiconductor transistor|journal=Nature Photonics|language=en|volume=7|issue=8|pages=634–638|doi=10.1038/nphoton.2013.176|bibcode=2013NaPho...7..634Y|hdl=10044/1/15224|s2cid=121809598 |issn=1749-4893}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Ying|last2=Costa|first2=Rosenildo Correa da|last3=Smilgies|first3=Detlef-M.|last4=Campbell|first4=Alasdair J.|last5=Fuchter|first5=Matthew J.|date=2013|title=Induction of Circularly Polarized Electroluminescence from an Achiral Light-Emitting Polymer via a Chiral Small-Molecule Dopant|journal=Advanced Materials|volume=25|issue=18|pages=2624–2628|doi=10.1002/adma.201204961|issn=1521-4095|pmc=3659407|pmid=23554220}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Brandt|first1=Jochen R.|last2=Wang|first2=Xuhua|last3=Yang|first3=Ying|last4=Campbell|first4=Alasdair J.|last5=Fuchter|first5=Matthew J.|date=2016|title=Circularly Polarized Phosphorescent Electroluminescence with a High Dissymmetry Factor from PHOLEDs Based on a Platinahelicene|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=138|issue=31|pages=9743–9746|doi=10.1021/jacs.6b02463|pmid=27434383|issn=0002-7863|doi-access=free|hdl=10044/1/37512|hdl-access=free}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:British chemists

Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol

Category:Alumni of Imperial College London

Category:Academics of Imperial College London

Category:Medicinal chemistry

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry