Alison Hulme is an English chemist and Professor of Synthesis and Chemical Biology. Her research considers natural products and synthesis. She was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

and awarded the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

Bader Award The Bader Award is a prize for organic chemistry awarded annually by the Royal Society of Chemistry since 1989. The winner, who receives £2,000 and a medal, gives a lecture tour in the UK. Winners Source: See also * List of chemistry awards ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Hulme became interested in chemistry as a child. Her grandfather was a metallurgist at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

and her mother was a high school

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

teacher. She spent her childhood doing experiments at home, and particularly enjoyed being able to play with microscopes. She was a member of the UK team at the

International Chemistry Olympiad The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IChO was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1968. The event has been held every year ...

. Hulme eventually studied

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. After graduating in Hulme started a doctoral research programme with Ian Paterson. She worked as a research fellow with Albert I. Meyers at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

. In 1994 Hulme returned to the

, where she was appointed a

Hertha Ayrton Phoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton (28 April 1854 – 26 August 1923) was a British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor, and suffragette. Known in adult life as Hertha Ayrton, born Phoebe Sarah Marks, she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the ...

Fellow at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

Research and career

Hulme was appointed a lecturer at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where she was promoted to a Personal Chair in 2017. Her research combines chemical biology and medical science to synthesise and make use of natural products. Hulme was awarded the

for her efforts in label-free Raman imaging. Label-free Raman imaging, or

Stimulated Raman scattering Raman scattering or the Raman effect () is the inelastic scattering of photons by matter, meaning that there is both an exchange of energy and a change in the light's direction. Typically this effect involves vibrational energy being gained by a ...

, can be used to identify the location of drugs in biological cells. These imaging techniques can be used to diagnose and treat cancer, as well as improving pre-clinical modelling of drug candidates.

Awards and honours

* 2015 Elected President of the

Organic Division Council * 2021 Elected Fellow of the

* 2021

Bader Award

Select publications

* * *

Personal life

Hulme is a mother of twins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulme, Alison N. Living people Scottish women chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people)