Rate My Professor Eng W. Tan

Dr Eng W. Tan is a long-standing member of the Department of Chemistry in the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago, appointed in 1992. He earned his BSc and PhD from the University of Adelaide and holds membership in the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (MNZIC). Tan contributes to undergraduate education as course coordinator for CHEM205 Biological and Medicinal Chemistry 1 and co-teaches CHEM302 Organic Chemistry 2. He supervises PhD students, such as Bella Chow, and participates in the Sciences Kaiāwhina Network to support Māori students in science. In 2017, he received the University of Otago Industry Links Award recognizing his external collaborations and impact.

Tan's research centers on interactions of molecules with enzymes, using transient and steady-state techniques to link enzyme behavior to molecular structure and conformation. He collaborates with Dr Keith Gordon on laser spectroscopy of diazo probes in enzyme systems. His work includes selective radical reactions achieving over 95% enantiomeric excess for functionalizing chiral compounds via directing substituents. Broader interests encompass medicinal chemistry, drug design, antimicrobial resistance, and enzyme inhibitors, aligning with the department's theme of chemistry at the interface with biology and medicine. Notable projects involve phospholipid self-organisation in ammonia-water environments, novel bolaform surfactants spanning bilayers, non-invasive brain drug delivery via focused ultrasound, and characterization of bacterial stress response enzymes like FphH in Staphylococcus aureus. Key publications include: 'Evidence for phospholipid self-organisation in concentrated ammonia-water environments' (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: Biomembranes, 2024); 'Synthesis of novel bolaform surfactants and investigation of their potential to span a phospholipid bilayer' (NZIC Conference, 2024); 'Biochemical and cellular characterization of the function of fluorophosphonate-binding hydrolase H (FphH) in Staphylococcus aureus support a role in bacterial stress response' (ACS Infectious Diseases, 2023); 'Structural Basis for the Inhibitor and Substrate Specificity of Fluorophosphonate Hydrolases' (ACS Infectious Diseases, 2020); 'Development of Solvent-Dispersible Coordination Polymer Nanoparticles' (Crystal Growth & Design, 2016); and 'UV-induced photodegradation of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in water' (2014). His 67 publications have accumulated 1181 citations.