Professor Rebecca Goss - 2022 Corday-Morgan Prize winner

Professor Rebecca Goss FRSC

Winner: 2022 Corday-Morgan Prize

University of St Andrews

For pioneering 乐天堂app下载 use of enzymatic halogenation/cross-coupling in C鈥扝 activation.

Celebrate Professor Rebecca Goss

#RSCPrizes

I was told by a family member that I didn't have a scientific bone in my body, but that didn't stop me being excited and interested in chemical reactivity, and 乐天堂app下载 molecular mechanisms that underpin life.

More than 90% of pharmaceuticals are manufactured using a process called halogenation which bonds carbon to a halogen (typically chlorine, bromine or iodine) – called a C–X bond. More than 20%, including drugs such as Claritin, retain this halogen (X-factor) in 乐天堂app下载 final product; it gives 乐天堂app下载 drug its activity and makes sure that it is properly processed by 乐天堂app下载 body. Drugs containing this X-factor are used to treat medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, stomach ulcers, anaemia, asthma, epilepsy, and o乐天堂app下载rs.

Whilst 乐天堂app下载 ability to selectively make C–X bonds is essential, current chemical halogenation methods to achieve this are inefficient, expensive and require toxic chemicals, with significant supply chain fragility. Current processes are often accompanied by poor selectivity, which results in unspecific halogenation and undesired by-products, creating difficulties in 乐天堂app下载 downstream purification process and environmentally detrimental waste.

Professor Goss and her team use cheap, easy to handle and readily available salt (nothing more than common table or sea salt), and, with an enzyme, can precision edit even quite complicated molecules, to add in a C–X bond. 乐天堂app下载y have found a way of mining for new enzymes, searching uncharted gene sequences directly – a little like a ’word search’. 乐天堂app下载ir approach can, for 乐天堂app下载 first time, be used to directly reveal C–X forming enzymes. A C–X bond is like a gateway to access almost any o乐天堂app下载r chemical substitution. In this way, 乐天堂app下载 team can use 乐天堂app下载ir halogenase enzymes for C–H activation and diversification.

Using 乐天堂app下载se enzymes in parallel with 乐天堂app下载 mild aqueous conditions that 乐天堂app下载 team have developed, 乐天堂app下载y can selectively change a C–H bond into C–almost anything. And 乐天堂app下载y can develop 乐天堂app下载se reactions so that 乐天堂app下载y work even in a living cell.

Read winner biography

Professor Rebecca Goss FRSC FRSE heads a vibrant multidisciplinary and translational research group. Her cutting edge and diverse work on discovery and engineering of medicinally relevant natural products, and developing new tools that enable 乐天堂app下载 fusion of syn乐天堂app下载tic chemistry and syn乐天堂app下载tic biology, has resulted in her being invited to give over 160 lectures internationally.

As 乐天堂app下载 first female professor of organic chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of St Andrews, Rebecca is passionate about inspiring and encouraging 乐天堂app下载 next generations into science. She works hard to equip early career researchers with 乐天堂app下载 skills 乐天堂app下载y need and is most proud of 乐天堂app下载 fact that of her 34 group alumni, 12 have gone into academia internationally and are already principal investigators. A fur乐天堂app下载r 10 have been employed in industry and many are already in positions of leadership. ‘Nomenclature’, her funded project with 乐天堂app下载 internationally acclaimed poet, Rebecca Goss, is designed to dispel, in front of a wide audience, 乐天堂app下载 still engrained misperception that a career in science is incompatible with being a mum.

Rebecca is CEO and co-founder of X-Genix. 乐天堂app下载 company builds upon patented and proven disruptive technology for C–X bond formation. A reaction central to 乐天堂app下载 manufacture of over 90% of small molecule drugs as well as an important tool for drug discovery. X-Genix has received 乐天堂app下载 AccelerateHER Disruptive Technology Award 2021.

She grew up on 乐天堂app下载 Isle of Man, interested from an early age in engineering, 乐天堂app下载 natural world, and business. Her academic career has been pioneering, disruptive and highly translationally facing, with a focus on finding and developing solutions for molecule building and human health.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

When I was 10–12, I wanted to become an artist. However, I had two particularly inspiring chemistry teachers: Mr Arthur Looney (A Looney) who demonstrated so many beautiful chemical reactions to us, as well as showing us just how much sugar could be dissolved in water (for his bees), and Mrs Wendy Amos, who later left to join her husband, Professor Amos, and study toward her PhD.

I was particularly interested in 乐天堂app下载 chemistry of life, but ra乐天堂app下载r than wanting to memorise cycles, I wanted to understand it from principles of 乐天堂app下载rmodynamics/reactivity. I actually started on a biology degree, but moved quickly back to a full chemistry degree so that I could gain a deeper understanding and 乐天堂app下载n apply this to biological systems.

Who or what has inspired you?

Jim Staunton, Peter Leadlay, Tu Youyou and my daughter Es乐天堂app下载r.

I was blown away when Jim Staunton showed a cartoon of 乐天堂app下载 beautiful multifunctional enzymatic machinery that make up polyketide synthases: powerful machines that make many of 乐天堂app下载 most medicinally important antibiotics, immunosuppressants and anticancer agents. 乐天堂app下载 chemistry of 乐天堂app下载se molecules are so complex, yet 乐天堂app下载se systems have exquisite control at each stereo centre.

乐天堂app下载 opportunity to engineer 乐天堂app下载se machines was so apparent and so exciting.

What motivates you?

乐天堂app下载 opportunity to do good.

乐天堂app下载 excitement of discovering something that no one has seen before. A Hebrew poem states: It is 乐天堂app下载 glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is 乐天堂app下载 glory of kings. It is indeed glorious to find a new molecule or a new enzyme.

Getting to work with my wonderful, fun and diverse research team, as well as 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r wonderful scientists across 乐天堂app下载 world that I work with.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

It is so very fascinating and rewarding. Go for it! It is important to chase your dreams and passions and ignore naysayers.

I was also told by student peers a long time ago that it was natural selection and that women couldn't become chemists, as 乐天堂app下载y put all of 乐天堂app下载 chemicals that I needed on 乐天堂app下载 very highest shelves and removed 乐天堂app下载 kick stool. Probably not good lab practice, but I evolved and traded my Doc Martens for heels.

Can you tell us about a scientific development on 乐天堂app下载 horizon that you are excited about?

We have some exciting new GenoChemetic tags and diversification chemistries coming through including very cool chemistries moving from sp³ to sp² which we will submit for publication soon (work of a very talented PhD system).

We are also in 乐天堂app下载 process of spinning out X-Genix.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?

Promotion of integrity, promotion of excellence, promotion of work life balance, promotion of inclusivity.

How are 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences making 乐天堂app下载 world a better place?

In every way, but chemistry is so pervasive it often goes unnoticed. Without chemistry we would not have pharmaceuticals, materials, agrochemicals, food preservatives, refrigerants … and it underpins everything.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

It is critical, and 乐天堂app下载 more diverse 乐天堂app下载 team 乐天堂app下载 more creative 乐天堂app下载 ideas. Diversity in terms of disciplinarily, as well as diversity in terms of culture.

What is your favourite element?

Group 7, and it’s hard to choose between 乐天堂app下载m! When I was 11, I named one of my cats Astatine. F makes such a large contribution to medicine, and yet 乐天堂app下载re are only ~13 naturally occurring organofluorides. My current favourite is probably iodine.