Dr. Downer-Riley is an organic chemist. Her research interest is in the synthesis of bioactive natural products from plants and marine microorganisms and in particular the synthesis of heterocyclic molecules which are those with some or all of the atoms joined in rings containing at least one atom of an element other than carbon (C). Many of these compounds form the biochemical materials of life e.g. nucleic acid (in DNA & RNA) and in many pigments, anti-biotics and vitamins. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/chemistry/staff/downer