Biography
After growing up in the UK, Sam moved to Belgium to study chemistry at KU Leuven. During his master’s, he completed a master’s internship at the VU Amsterdam and his dissertation was carried out in the Laboratory of Microwave Assisted Chemistry at the KU Leuven. Subsequently, in 2019, he moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, to start his PhD in Chemistry at Te Kāuru – Ferrier Research Institute. During his education, Sam has enjoyed the privilege of learning from numerous experts in the fields of carbohydrate, medicinal, and synthetic chemistry. Sam’s PhD research focused on designing, synthesizing, and biologically assessing complex carbohydrate dendrimers and he successfully defended his PhD in May 2023.
Sam joined the Laboratory for Neglected Diseases as a Postdoctoral Researcher in November 2023.
Highlighted Publications
- Spijkers-Shaw, S.; Campbell, K.; Shields, N. J.; Miller, J. H.; Rendle, P. M.; Jiao, W.; Young, S. L.; Zubkova, O. V. Synthesis of Novel Glycolipid Mimetics of Heparan Sulfate and Their Application in Colorectal Cancer Treatment in a Mouse Model. Chemistry – An Asian Journal 2022, 17 (12), e202200228. https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.202200228.
- Peck, T.; Davis, C.; Lenihan-Geels, G.; Griffiths, M.; Spijkers-Shaw, S.; Zubkova, O. V.; La Flamme, A. C. The Novel HS-Mimetic, Tet-29, Regulates Immune Cell Trafficking across Barriers of the CNS during Inflammation. Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023, 20 (1), 251. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-023-02925-4.
- Spijkers-Shaw, S.; Devlin, R. G.; Shields, N. J.; Feng, X.; Peck, T.; Lenihan-Geels, G.; Davis, C.; Young, S. L.; La Flamme, A. C.; Zubkova, O. V. Synthesis and Detection of BODIPY-, Biotin-, and 19F- Labeled Single-Entity Dendritic Heparan Sulfate Mimetics. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2024, e202316791. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202316791.