Cecil Chan

Chemistry Tutor – Cecil Chan

Cecil holds a BSc in Chemistry from London, a PhD in Chemistry from London and a PGCE. He joined MPW in 2017, having previously taught at Lansdowne College, CATS London, Abbey (DLD) College London and Ashbourne College.

Cecil was awarded 1st Prize for Presentation at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Conference, University of Nottingham, 1995. Inhibitors of Trypanathione Reductase as Potential Antitrypanosomal Drugs, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al.

Role at MPW

I’m an A level Chemistry and IGCSE Science Double Award (Chemistry) tutor at MPW London. I also teach on the Easter Revision courses, covering different exam boards.

Research and Publications

The following is a summary of the distinguished positions that Cecil held during his early career, and a summary of his notable research projects and publications.

Early Career in Research

Mar 1987 – Dec 1988: Glaxo Postdoctoral Placement, Department of Chemistry, University of Exeter.
Jan 1988 – Dec 1989: Research Fellow at The Dyson Perrins Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford.
Jan 1989 – Dec 1993: Research Associate Scientist, Anti-Infective Chemistry, Roche USA Division.
Sep 1993 – Mar 1996: WHO Fellow in Infectious Diseases, School of Pharmacy, University of Manchester in collaboration with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Selected Publications

A New Type of Abnormal Reimer-Tiemann Reaction, C.W. Bird, C. Chan et al., Tetrahedron, 1985, 41, 4685-4690.
A convenient synthetic route to o-hydroxybenzylamines, C.W. Bird, C. Chan et al., Chemistry and Industry, 1987, 722.
Convergent Stereocontrolled Synthesis of 13-HODE, C. Chan, S.M. Roberts et al., J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun., 1988, 971.
A General Synthetic Approach to Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids, C.W. Bird, C. Chan et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1989, 30, 6223-6226.
Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis of 13-HODE, C. Chan, S.M. Roberts et al., Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, 1990, 111-118.
Synthesis of Potential Transition State Inhibitors of Succinyl CoA:THDP N-Succinyl-Transferase, J.L. Roberts, C. Chan et al., Heterocycles, 1993, 35, 115.
Inhibitors of Trypanathione Reductase as Potential Antitrypanosomal Drugs, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Biochem. Soc. Trans., 1995, 23, 5115.
Fluphenazine photoaffinity labelling of binding sites for phenothiazine inhibitors of trypanothione reductase, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun., 1996, 973-4.
Spectrophotometric monitoring of the photoreactivity of fluphenazine and its use as a photoaffinity label for trypanothione reductase, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Instruments at Work UV, Varian, 1997, UV-71, 1.
Synthesis and comparative conformational energetics of D-phenylalanylsarcosine and its cyclic dehydration product, (R)-1-methyl-3-(phenylmethyl)-2,5-piperazinedione, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Amino Acids, 1997, 12, 49-56.
Phenothiazine Inhibitors of Trypanothione Reductase as Potential Antitrypanosomal and Antileishmanial Drugs, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., J. Med.Chem., 1998, 41, 148-156.
Rational Drug Design Approach for Overcoming Drug Resistance: Application to Pyrimethamine Resistance in Malaria, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., J. Med.Chem., 1998, 41, 1367-1370.
Phenothiazine Inhibitors of Trypanothione Reductase as Potential Antitrypanosomal and Antileishmanial Drugs, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., J. Med.Chem., 1998, 41, 4910.
Use of an Additional Hydrophobic Binding Site, the Z Site, in the Rational Drug Design of a New Class of Stronger Trypanothione Reductase Inhibitor, Quaternary Alkylammonium Phenothiazines, C. Chan,
K.T. Douglas et al., J. Med.Chem., 2000, 43, 3148-3156.
Specific peptide inhibitors of trypanothione reductase with backbone structures unrelated to that of substrate: potential rational drug design lead frameworks, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Amino Acids, 2001, 20, 145-153.
Peptoid inhibition of trypanothione reductase as a potential antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial drug lead, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Amino Acids, 2002, 22, 297-308.
Asymmetric synthesis of differentially protected meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid, J.L. Roberts, C. Chan et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 2002, 43, 7679-7682.
Spectrophotometric monitoring of the photoreactivity of fluphenazine and its use as a photoaffinity label for trypanothione reductase, C. Chan, K.T. Douglas et al., Agilent Technologies, March, 2011.

Describe MPW

I really enjoy working at MPW, the staff are nice, and we work well as a staff body. The students are very nice, and we (the tutors) build enjoyable rapport with them. It’s nice to interact with young people, seeing them doing well and going forward into life – I find it rewarding.

About You

I enjoy visiting museums and going to concerts with friends – I like music of all sorts, particularly ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and some classical. I like to play around with creating new dishes in the kitchen. I’m currently learning Tai Chi, it’s not just the exercise it’s the philosophy of it too. I particularly like certain areas of science, chemistry and biochemistry, and enjoy speaking in front of a class on these subjects.

Tips for Future MPW Students

To think ahead and consider their future. For chemistry students, I’d encourage them to view their studies in the context of their intended career and how it’s used there, so they can get into the area of chemistry that is most relevant.