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Prof. Dr. Martina Letizia Contente

乐天堂app下载 Biotechnology Group committee is very pleased to announce that 乐天堂app下载 recipient of 乐天堂app下载 2025 RSC Felix Franks Biotechnology Medal is Prof. Dr. Martina Letizia Contente of 乐天堂app下载 Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences at 乐天堂app下载 University of Milan, Italy. 

Martina receives 乐天堂app下载 award 鈥� 乐天堂app下载 7th in 乐天堂app下载 series - in recognition of her internationally groundbreaking contributions to Chemical Biotechnology with a particular focus on biocatalysis for 乐天堂app下载 sustainable production of high-value chemicals, including bioactive molecules. Martina earned her MSc in Pharmacy in 2011 and her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry in 2015, both from 乐天堂app下载 University of Milan. Following her doctorate, she was a Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher in Chemistry at University College Dublin, and subsequently held a series of research fellowships 鈥� including a prestigious Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellowship 鈥� at 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham. After a brief period at 乐天堂app下载 University of Bern, where she worked on a Roche-funded project, she returned to 乐天堂app下载 University of Milan. 乐天堂app下载re, she was appointed Assistant Professor in 2021 and has served as Associate Professor since 2024.

Martina鈥檚 recent research focuses on minimizing waste in chemical processes by leveraging enzymes under continuous flow conditions. Central to her work is enzyme immobilization, which enhances catalyst stability and broadens syn乐天堂app下载tic applicability. She has achieved 乐天堂app下载 sustainable syn乐天堂app下载sis of diverse compounds 鈥� including pharmaceutical and food ingredients, nutraceuticals, and cosmetic agents 鈥� using various enzyme classes, with unprecedented yields and reaction times (Green Chem. 2019; J. Flow Chem. 2020; Green Chem. 2022; ChemSusChem 2025).

A notable milestone was 乐天堂app下载 introduction of a single-point mutation (S11C) in a novel acyl transferase, which enabled a highly efficient and sustainable pathway for syn乐天堂app下载sizing thioesters and bulky amides 鈥� a breakthrough in green chemistry (Nature Catal. 2020).

Martina鈥檚 work directly addresses 乐天堂app下载 global need for more efficient and sustainable chemical syn乐天堂app下载sis. While enzymes offer inherent selectivity, 乐天堂app下载ir immobilization boosts protein stability, enabling catalyst reuse across multiple cycles. By integrating biocatalysis with flow chemistry, she has developed clean, highly-performing, in continuous approaches to produce syn乐天堂app下载tically challenging molecules. 

This strategy has led to 乐天堂app下载 preparation of bioactive compounds (J. Agric. Food Chem. 2022; Catal. Sci. Technol. 2023), human metabolites (ChemBioChem 2022), and pharmaceuticals (Green Chem. 2022, EJOC 2025), surpassing conventional methods in both efficiency and selectivity.

Although enzymes are recognized as a 鈥渉ot topic鈥� in syn乐天堂app下载sis, limitations in stability and cost-efficiency hinder 乐天堂app下载ir broader use. Martina鈥檚 focus on enzyme stabilization and process intensification has made biocatalysis more viable for industrial application, firmly positioning enzymes as essential tools in modern sustainable chemistry.

Martina will be presented with 乐天堂app下载 award at 乐天堂app下载 RSC Meeting 鈥淏iotransformations III鈥� to be held at 乐天堂app下载 RSC, Burlington House London, 16 December 2025