From molecular design to real-world impact
Designing and synthesising molecules to advance chemical and pharmaceutical research. My work focuses on new approaches to antibiotic discovery, building molecules that could help tackle antimicrobial resistance.
Fully funded PhD researcher at Loughborough University, published in The Journal of Organic Chemistry, and an award winning communicator of science.
PhD thesis: Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane Analogues of Quinolone Antibiotics, supervised by Dr Marc Kimber at Loughborough University.
Quinolones are among the most widely used antibiotic classes, but resistance to them keeps rising. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats in modern medicine, and new chemical starting points are needed.
Many drugs are built from flat aromatic rings. Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) is a compact, rigid cage that can stand in for those flat pieces as a bioisostere, adding three dimensional shape that can change how a molecule behaves in the body.
Strained cages are hard to attach to drug scaffolds. Dolapo develops and optimises multistep synthetic routes to make these analogues, then studies how changes to their structure affect their properties.
Designing smarter antibiotics for the future.The talk that won Loughborough's School of Science Three Minute Thesis and People's Choice awards in 2026.
Hands on synthetic chemistry backed by full structural characterisation, built across three research degrees in the UK and Nigeria.
Peer reviewed work in organic synthesis and environmental materials chemistry.
H. J. C. Monroe, D. J. Bello, B. J. Duff, M. R. J. Elsegood, K. Watanabe, G. J. Pritchard, M. C. Kimber
The Journal of Organic Chemistry 2025, 90 (23), 7712–7722. doi:10.1021/acs.joc.5c00565
K. N. Awokoya, V. O. Oninla, D. J. Bello
Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 2021, 14, 100440. doi:10.1016/j.enmm.2021.100440
Starch isolated from bitter yam was modified into nanoparticles and tested as a low cost scavenger for toxic heavy metals in water.
D. J. Bello and colleagues
Details will be shared once the work is published.
Prizes for explaining complex chemistry clearly, and professional recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Best presentation, School of Science 3MT® competition.
Audience vote in the same 3MT® competition.
Celebrating Women in Chemistry Conference, University of Bristol.
Entitled to use the designatory letters AMRSC.
Full details of each certificate held.
Loughborough University, School of Science
Signed by Professor Oli Buckley, Director of Doctoral Programmes
Loughborough University, School of Science
Signed by Professor Oli Buckley, Director of Doctoral Programmes
Royal Society of Chemistry, RSC Advances
Awarded at the Women in Chemistry Conference 2026, University of Bristol. Signed by Dr Laura Fisher (Executive Editor), Professor Russell Cox and Professor Karen Faulds (Co-Editors-in-Chief)
WiChem Bristol 2026 and University of Bristol
Celebrating Women in Chemistry Conference 2026. Judged on behalf of the organising committee by Prof. M. Carmen Galan, Dr Beatrice Collins and Dr Mélanie Roffet-Salque
The Royal Society of Chemistry
Admitted as an Associate Member and entitled to use the designatory letters AMRSC
University of Bristol and WiChem Bristol 2026
For attending and presenting a 5MT at the Celebrating Women in Chemistry Conference
RSC Heterocyclic and Synthesis Group, organised by Networks Meetings
Heterocyclic & Synthesis Group 3rd Postdoctoral Symposium (virtual)
From materials and environmental chemistry in Nigeria to medicinal chemistry in the UK.
Thesis: Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane Analogues of Quinolone Antibiotics. Supervisor: Dr Marc Kimber
Thesis: Microfluidic Mixing Analysis of Liquid Systems. Supervisor: Dr Cheu Wing Li
Thesis: Biopolymer Nanoparticles for Environmental Remediation
Industry exposure, conferences and a long record of encouraging others into science.
I would love to hear from teams in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and chemical industry R&D, and from research groups working on drug discovery and new synthetic methods.