Biological Chemistry Department

Head of Department: Professor John Pickett CBE DSc FRS

The Biological Chemistry Department is well known for its development of the synthetic pyrethroids. New approaches have also brought the Department to international prominence in the field of chemical ecology, with first identifications of a range of semiochemicals, including aphid, mosquito and sandfly pheromones.

The Department collaborates with the Plant Science Department on the exploitation of plant stress signals for induced crop defence. Pioneering work on the molecular mechanisms by which insects resist pesticides continues and similar approaches are now being used to elucidate the molecular nature of insect olfaction. There are 3 research groups in the Department:

Chemical Ecology
Insect Molecular Biology
Lipid Signalling