Dr Susannah Coote - 2022 Inspirational Member Award winner

Dr Susannah Coote MRSC

Winner: 2022 Inspirational Member Award

Lancaster University and RSC Heterocyclic and Synthesis Group

For dedication to supporting the early career heterocyclic chemistry community through the development of a programme of online activities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Celebrate Dr Susannah Coote

#RSCPrizes

It has been a privilege to serve the organic chemistry community as part of the Heterocyclic & Synthesis Group. I am very grateful for the recognition and look forward to seeing how the group evolves in the future!

As Secretary and Treasurer of the Heterocyclic & Synthesis Group, Susannah organised a programme of events for members (including an annual January meeting, an annual postgraduate meeting and the group’s flagship biennial Lakeland Symposium), to allow networking opportunities, the chance to learn from eminent speakers and opportunities for members of the HSG community to present their own research.

Susannah’s research group uses light to drive chemical reactions, and in particular, they develop new ways to make “difficult-to-make” molecules. When a molecule is irradiated with light of the correct energy, the molecule can be “excited” and can undergo reactions that are not possible using standard methods such as heating. Generally, the group use ultraviolet light to “bend” flat molecules into interesting shapes, then use standard synthetic methods to convert these new molecules into various derivatives that have potential applications in drug discovery.

Read winner biography

Susannah graduated from the University of York in 2003 with a first class MChem degree. Her final year was spent at the Université Joseph Fourier (France) carrying out a research project with Dr Jean-François Poisson, working on thermal [2+2] cycloadditions using dichloroketene. She remained at the University of York for her Ph.D. studies, working under the supervision of Professor Peter O’Brien on several aspects of novel aziridine chemistry. During her Ph.D. studies, Susannah spent a 3-month sabbatical working as an intern on a medicinal chemistry project at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel (Switzerland).

In 2007, Susannah moved to the Université Paris-Sud XI (France) for her first postdoctoral position, where she worked on the development of the catalytic asymmetric nitroso Diels-Alder reaction in the group of Professor Cyrille Kouklovsky. In 2009, Susannah moved to the University of Manchester, working as a postdoctoral associate in Professor David Procter’s research group. Her research at Manchester focused on the development of new samarium(II)-mediated cascade reactions and connective Pummerer reactions, with applications in medicinal, biological and materials chemistry. Susannah was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship in 2012 to join the Technische Universität München (hosted by Professor Thorsten Bach) in order to learn about photochemistry (in particular, enantioselective photochemical reactions). In 2014, Susannah started her independent career at Lancaster University, and also joined the committee of the RSC’s Heterocyclic & Synthesis Group.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I became interested in chemistry comparatively late – I was not even taking chemistry at A Level for the first two weeks of the course! However, I realised my mistake when I found that I didn’t like biology as much as I thought I would – in fact, the bits of it I did like were actually more chemistry than biology, and once I picked up chemistry I never looked back.

Who or what has inspired you?

From a young age I was inspired by Olga Korbut, who dared to be different and brought about a sea change in women’s artistic gymnastics, particularly through her performances at the 1972 Olympic Games. Though she had retired from active competition before I was born, I still enjoy watching her performances, admiring her composure and elegance in routinely performing exercises much more difficult than those of her competitors.

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?

Throughout my career, the opportunity for extended stays in other countries has been a particular privilege, especially as I have a keen interest in foreign languages. For example, I studied at undergraduate level in France, with subsequent research stays in Switzerland, France and Germany. Each trip provided me with insights into the local culture and different ways of working, and I really hope I will be able to conduct further research stays in other countries in the future.

What is your favourite element?

Cerium – some of its compounds are really useful in organic chemistry, and have fixed problems of selectivity for me on various occasions!