James Hall

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+44 (0) 118 378 4638
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Associate Professor
Dr James Hall teaches on the MPharm, MPAS and BSc Pharmacology programmes, with teaching focussed on drug discovery, development and drug-target interactions. He is also the Admissions Tutor for the MPharm and MPharm with Foundation programmes.
Areas of interest
Dr Hall's research is into nucleic acid structure and function. He is an experienced X-ray crystallographer and user of Diamond Light Source, with over 45 structures published in the Protein Data Bank, who also uses solution-phase techniques, including UV/visible absorbance and circular dichroism (B23 at DLS), to cross-validate crystal structure with solution behaviour. He has a particular interest in the mechanisms of nucleic acid damage, the development and exploitation of non-canonical nucleic acid structures for therapeutic applications and DNA-ligand interactions.
Dr Hall is also interested in pedagogic and educational research, with a particular interest in using virtual reality methods within teaching. He has collaborated to develop, deploy and evaluate VR-based teaching materials on a class scale within both chemistry-focussed and clinical teaching.
Academic qualifications
- MChem Chemistry
- PhD
- Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP)
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
- Chartered Chemist (CChem)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Publications
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Dalla Pozza, M.
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Abdullrahman, A.
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Cardin, C.
ORCID: 0000-0002-2556-9995 , Gasser, G. , Hall, J.
ORCID: 0000-0003-3716-4378 (2022) Three’s a crowd – stabilisation, structure, and applications of DNA triplexes. Chemical Science (35). pp. 10193-10215. ISSN: 2041-6539 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d2sc01793h
- Baker, Y. , Thorpe, C. , Chen, J. , Poller, L. , Cox, L. , Kumar, P. , Lim, W. , Lie, L. , McClorey, G. , Epple, S. , Singleton, D. , McDonough, M. , Hardwick, J. , Christensen, K. , Wood, M. , Hall, J. , El-Sagheer, A. , Brown, T. (2022) An LNA-amide modification that enhances the cell uptake and activity of phosphorothioate exon-skipping oligonucleotides. Nature Communications , 13 pp. 1-13. ISSN: 2041-1723 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31636-2
- Allman, S. , Cordy, J. , Hall, J. , Kleanthous, V. , Lander, L. (2022) Exploring the perception of additional information content in 360° 3D VR video for teaching and learning. Virtual Worlds , 1 (1). pp. 1-17. ISSN: 2813-2084 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/virtualworlds1010001
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McQuaid, K.
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Takahashi, S.
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Baumgaertner, L.
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Cardin, D.
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Paterson, N.
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Hall, J.
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Sugimoto, N.
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Cardin, C.
ORCID: 0000-0002-2556-9995 (2022) Ruthenium polypyridyl complex bound to a unimolecular chair-form G-quadruplex. Journal of the American Chemical Society , 144 (13). pp. 5956-5964. ISSN: 0002-7863 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c00178
- Hall, J. and Allman, S. (2020) Blending virtual reality with traditional approaches to encourage engagement with core chemistry concepts relevant to an undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. Pharmacy Education , 20 (1). pp. 365-374. ISSN: 1477-2701 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.201.365374
- Baptista, F. , Devereux, S. , Gurung, S. , Hall, J. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Cardin, C. , Brazier, J. , Kelly, J. , Quinn, S. (2020) The influence of loops on the binding of the [Ru(phen)2dppz]2+ light-switch compound to i-motif DNA structures revealed by time-resolved spectroscopy. Chemical Communications , 56 (67). pp. 9703-9706. ISSN: 1359-7345 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0CC03702H
- Pages, B. , Gurung, S. , McQuaid, K. , Hall, J. , Cardin, C. , Brazier, J. (2019) Stabilization of long-looped i-motif DNA by polypyridyl ruthenium complexes. Frontiers in Chemistry , 7 pp 0. ISSN: 2296-2646 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2019.00744
- Conlon, P. , Eguaogie, O. , Wilson, J. , Sweet, J. , Steinhögl, J. , Englert, K. , Hancox, O. , Law, C. , Allman, S. , Tucker, J. , Hall, J. , Vyle, J. (2019) Solid-phase synthesis and structural characterisation of phosphoroselenolate-modified DNA: a backbone analogue which does not impose conformational bias and facilitates SAD X-ray crystallography. Chemical Science , 10 (47). pp. 10948-10957. ISSN: 1478-6524 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C9SC04098F
- McQuaid, K. , Hall, J. , Baumgaertner, L. , Cardin, D. , Cardin, C. (2019) Three thymine/adenine binding modes of the ruthenium complex Λ-[Ru (TAP)2(dppz)]2+ to the G-quadruplex forming sequence d(TAGGGTT) shown by X-ray crystallography. Chemical Communications , 55 pp. 9116-9119. ISSN: 1359-7345 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C9CC04316K
- McQuaid, K. , Abell, H. , Gurung, S. , Allan, D. , Winter, G. , Sorensen, T. , Cardin, D. , Brazier, J. , Cardin, C. , Hall, J. (2019) Structural studies reveal the enantiospecific recognition of a DNA G-quadruplex by a ruthenium polypyridyl complex. Angewandte Chemie International Edition , 58 (29). pp. 9881-9885. ISSN: 1433-7851 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201814502
- Cardin, C. and Hall, J. (2018) Structural studies of DNA-binding metal complexes of therapeutic importance. In: Waring, M. , (eds.) DNA-targeting Molecules as Therapeutic Agents. Royal Society of Chemistry pp. 198-227. ISSN: 2055-1983 ISBN: 9781782629924 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/9781788012928-00198
- McQuaid, K. , Hall, J. , Brazier, J. , Cardin, D. , Cardin, C. (2018) X-ray crystal structures show DNA stacking advantage of terminal nitrile substitution in Ru-dppz complexes. Chemistry- A European Journal , 24 (59). pp. 15859-15867. ISSN: 1521-3765 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201803021
- Keane, P. , Hall, J. , Poynton, F. , Poulson, B. , Gurung, S. , Clark, I. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Quinn, S. , Cardin, C. , Kelly, J. (2017) Inosine can increase DNA's susceptibility to photo-oxidation by a Ru(II) complex due to structural change in the minor groove. Chemistry - A European Journal , 23 (43). pp. 10344-10351. ISSN: 0947-6539 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201701447
- Hall, J. , Gurung, S. , Henle, J. , Poidl, P. , Andersson, J. , Lincoln, P. , Winter, G. , Sorensen, T. , Cardin, D. , Brazier, J. , Cardin, C. (2017) Guanine can direct binding specificity of Ru-dppz complexes to DNA through steric effects. Chemistry: A European Journal , 23 (21). pp. 4981-4985. ISSN: 0947-6539 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201605508
- Hall, J. , Keane, P. , Beer, H. , Buchner, K. , Winter, G. , Sorensen, T. , Cardin, D. , Brazier, J. , Cardin, C. (2016) Delta chirality ruthenium ‘light-switch’ complexes can bind in the minor groove of DNA with five different binding modes. Nucleic Acids Research , 44 (19). pp. 9472-9482. ISSN: 1362-4962 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw753
- Poynton, F. , Hall, J. , Keane, P. , Schwarz, C. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Cardin, C. , Cardin, D. , Quinn, S. , Long, C. , Kelly, J. (2016) Direct observation by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy of the bright and the dark excited states of the [Ru(phen)2(dppz)]2+ light-switch compound in solution and when bound to DNA. Chemical Science , 7 (5). pp. 3075-3084. ISSN: 1478-6524 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5SC04514B
- Hall, J. , Poynton, F. , Keane, P. , Gurung, S. , Brazier, J. , Cardin, D. , Winter, G. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Cardin, C. , Kelly, J. , Quinn, S. (2015) Monitoring one-electron photo-oxidation of guanine in DNA crystals using ultrafast infrared spectroscopy. Nature Chemistry , 7 pp. 961-967. ISSN: 1755-4330 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2369
- Keane, P. , Poynton, F. , Hall, J. , Clark, I. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Quinn, S. , Cardin, C. , Kelly, J. (2015) Monitoring guanine photo-oxidation by enantiomerically resolved Ru(II) dipyridophenazine complexes using inosine-substituted oligonucleotides. Faraday Discussions , 185 pp. 455-469. ISSN: 1364-5498 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c5fd00085h
- Keane, P. , Poynton, F. , Hall, J. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Quinn, S. , Cardin, C. , Kelly, J. (2015) Reversal of a single base pair step controls guanine photo-oxidation by an intercalating Ru(II) dipyridophenazine complex. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition , 54 (29). pp. 8364-8368. ISSN: 1433-7851 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201502608
- Keane, P. , Poynton, F. , Hall, J. , Clark, I. , Sazanovich, I. , Towrie, M. , Gunnlaugsson, T. , Quinn, S. , Cardin, C. , Kelly, J. (2015) Enantiomeric conformation controls rate and yield of photoinduced electron transfer in DNA sensitized by Ru(II) Dipyridophenazine complexes. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters , 6 (4). pp. 734-738. ISSN: 1948-7185 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jz502743q
- Hall, J. , Beer, H. , Buchner, K. , Cardin, D. , Cardin, C. (2015) The structural effect of Methyl substitution on the binding of Polypyridyl Ru-dppz Complexes to DNA. Organometallics , 34 (11). pp. 2481-2486. ISSN: 1520-6041 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/om501208x
- Gurung, S. , Schwarz, C. , Hall, J. , Cardin, C. , Brazier, J. (2015) The importance of loop length on the stability of i-motif structures. Chemical Communications , 51 (26). pp. 5630-5632. ISSN: 1359-7345 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4CC07279K
- Hall, J. , Sanchez-Weatherby, J. , Alberti, C. , Hurtado Quimper, C. , O'Sullivan, K. , Brazier, J. , Winter, G. , Sorensen, T. , Kelly, J. , Cardin, D. , Cardin, C. (2014) Controlled dehydration of a ruthenium complex-DNA crystal induces reversible DNA kinking. Journal of the American Chemical Society , 136 (50). pp. 17505-17512. ISSN: 0002-7863 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja508745x