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bill_hawkinsPhD(W'gong), BMedCHem(Hons)

Tel: 03 471 6217
Location: Science II 2n8
Email: bhawkins@chemistry.otago.ac.nz

Bill completed his PhD at the University of Wollongong, followed by postdoctoral positions at the University of Melbourne and Ecole Polytechnique (France). After a short stay at the Walter and Eliza Hall institute for medical research, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago as a lecturer (2012) and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2016. His research interests include the synthesis of bioactive natural products and their use as chemical probes to understand biological processes and inform drug design, as well as the development of new synthetic methodologies.

For more information about the Hawkins Research Group: https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/hawkinsgroup/

Publications

Maguire, C., Cao, Q., Gilmer, S. C. L., Hawkins, B. C., Knipe, P. C., & Muldoon, M. J. (2026). tert-Butyl hydroperoxide mediated Wacker-type oxidations: Taking advantage of hexafluoro-2-propanol for challenging substrates. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. doi: 10.1039/d5ob01683e Journal - Research Article

Lewin, H. M., Mader, L. K., Edupuganti, V. V. S. R., Hawkins, B. C., & Gamble, A. B. (2026). Synthesis of heterocyclic scaffolds from nitrobenzyl alcohols using reduction‐generated azaquinone methides and cyclization. European Journal of Organic Chemistry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/ejoc.202600014 Journal - Research Article

Badart, M. P., Harrison, S. D. L., & Hawkins, B. C. (2025). Synthetic strategies toward spiroaspertrione A, construction of the ABDE ring system. Journal of Organic Chemistry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.5c01734 Journal - Research Article

Craig, A. J., Cording, A. P., Gilmer, S. C. L., Henneveld, J. S., Gai, S., Harker, O. H., Lucas, N. T., & Hawkins, B. C. (2025). The Synthesis of cyclopropyl‐fused tetrahydrofurans from vinylcyclopropanes. Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/ajoc.70110 Journal - Research Article

Henneveld, J., Lucas, N. T., Bissember, A. C., & Hawkins, B. C. (2025). Dipole-transmissive 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions: Modular, diversity-oriented synthesis of polycyclic alkaloid scaffolds. Organic Letters. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.5c01867 Journal - Research Article

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