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Winner of the 2024 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Congratulations to Professor Neha Garg, recipient of the 2024 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship!

The annual Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board have selected Professor Garg from the Georgia Institute of Technology as the winner this year.

 

 

“It is an honor to receive the 2024 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship. I am eternally grateful to my mentors (Profs. Pieter C. Dorrestein, Wilfred A. van der Donk, and Satish K. Nair) for teaching me to be a scientist, to my colleagues Valerie Paul and Julia Kubanek for their support, to Georgia Tech, to the selection committee, and my lab members for their hard work and infectious positivity.” – Professor Neha Garg

Professor Garg’s lectureship will be held at an event and date to be confirmed. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on X, LinkedIn or sign up to our news alerts.

 

 

More about Neha

Neha Garg is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech broadly interested in understanding how small molecules shape microbial composition in complex environments. Garg obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2013 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Professors Wilfred A. van der Donk and Satish K. Nair. Neha’s dissertation work in Illinois was recognized by the Anne A Johnson work award and the Catherine Connor Outstanding Dissertation in Biotechnology award. She then worked with Professor Pieter C. Dorrestein as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California, San Diego where she developed metabolomics methods to visualize microbial communities.

At Georgia Tech, Garg was awarded the NSF CAREER award, R35 MIRA award, and Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development award to develop –omics methods for investigating natural products-mediated chemical communication between host and microbe as well as mucus-associated probiotic and pathogenic microbes. Her work has been recognized by the ACS Organic Division with the Academic Young Investigator Award. She has also received several teaching awards at Georgia Tech including the Center for Teaching and Learning Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award and the Vasser Woolley Award for Excellence in Instruction. In her research, Garg develops and applies interdisciplinary approaches in chemical microbiology, molecular biology, microscopy, mass spectrometry, and genomics to unveil the role of microbial, host, and chemical environments in the production of small molecule natural products.

Find out more about Neha and the work her lab is doing on her webpage.

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Winner of the 2023 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Congratulations to Professor Christine Beemelmanns, recipient of the 2023 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship!

The annual Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board have selected Professor Beemelmanns from the Helmholtz Institute of Pharmaceutical Research Saarland as the winner this year.

Photo courtesy of Anna Schroll (HKI)

“It is an honour to receive the 2023 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the selection committee for recognising my work. I would also like to acknowledge my mentors and colleagues with whom I have had the privilege to collaborate, and which undoubtedly influenced and enriched my work.

I also want to express my profound appreciation for the remarkable group of young scientists who have contributed their work and passion to make this achievement possible, and my family, which supported me throughout my career. Without their dedication, this work would not have been possible.” – Professor Christine Beemelmanns

Professor Beemelmanns’ lectureship will be held virtually at a date to be confirmed. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on Twitter @NatProdReports or sign up to our news alerts.

 

More about Christine

Christine Beemelmanns studied Chemistry at the RWTH Aachen, and after graduation went to Japan for a one-year research stay in the group of Prof. Sodeoka at RIKEN. Back in Germany she worked at the FU Berlin with Prof. Reißig and received her PhD in Organic Chemistry. She then worked another six months in Japan at the University of Tokyo under the supervision of Prof. K. Suzuki and joined shortly afterwards the group of Prof. Clardy at Harvard Medical School (Boston) in 2011. At the end of 2013, she received a call from the Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI) to work there as a Junior Research Group leader in the field of Natural Products Chemistry and Chemical Biology. In 2020, she was elected as Margaret L. and Harlan L. Goering Visiting Professors in Organic Chemistry at UW Madison. In 2022 she was appointed Professor for Biochemistry of Microbial Metabolism at the Leipzig University and shortly after was appointed a Full Professorship on Medicinal-Pharmaceutical Microbiota Research at Saarland University together with the HIPS.

In her research projects, Christine focuses on the chemical and functional analysis of co-evolved microbial interactions. Her group combines natural product chemistry with applied microbiology and molecular biology to identify important microbial natural products from these symbiotic communities that are composed of unprecedented chemical core structures and display pharmacological important activities.

Find out more about Christine and the work her lab is doing on their webpage.

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Winner of the 2022 NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship

The annual Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Jinghan Gui has been chosen by the NPR Editorial Board as this year’s recipient of the lectureship.

“It is a great honor to receive the NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship. I’d like to thank the nominator and the Editorial Board of NPR, my mentors (Profs. Weisheng Tian and Phil S. Baran) and SIOC colleagues for their tremendous support over the years, as well as my lab members for their hard work.” – Prof. Jinghan Gui

His lectureship will be held virtually at date to be confirmed. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on Twitter @NatProdReports or sign-up to our news alerts.

More about Jinghan

Jinghan Gui received his B.S. degree from Anhui Normal University in 2007. After completing his Ph.D. at Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC) under the guidance of Prof. Weisheng Tian in 2012, he went on to pursue his postdoctoral research with Prof. Phil S. Baran at The Scripps Research Institute in February 2013. In March 2016, he moved back to SIOC to begin his independent research career. His research focuses on the efficient synthesis of complex, biologically active natural products, including steroids and terpenoids.

Find out more about him and the work his lab is doing on their webpage.

 

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Nominate for the 2022 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Nominations are now open for the 2022 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

This lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. Nominations can be made by anyone, so why not nominate a colleague, collaborator, or someone whose work you admire today?

Nominations must be submitted by 08 October 2021

Who can be nominated?

To be eligible for the Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship candidates must be within the first six years of their independent career, either in academia or industry, have started publishing independent papers and have made a significant contribution to natural products-related research.

How to nominate

Those wishing to make a nomination should email the following details to the Editorial Office at npr-rsc@rsc.org by 08 October 2021:

  • The name, affiliation and (if possible) web address of the nominee
  • At least one paragraph outlining the reasons for nomination. This should include brief details of the nominee’s contributions to their field. Additional supporting information, for example their CV, would be helpful but is not mandatory for making a nomination.

Selection procedure

The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided at nomination. The board will then vote to select the recipient and the winner will be announced in late 2021.

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Winner of the 2021 NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship

The annual Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career.

We are delighted to announce that Associate Professor Hans Renata has been chosen by the NPR Editorial Board as this year’s receipient of the lectureship.

It is an honor to receive the 2021 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship. I would like to thank the selection committee, my mentors and colleagues (Phil, Frances, Ben, Ryan, Keary) who have supported me over the years, and last but not least, my lab members for their hard work and creativity, without which this work would not be possible.” – Prof. Hans Renata

His lectureship will be held virtually at date to be confirmed. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on Twitter @NatProdReports or sign-up to our news alerts.

More about Hans

Hans Renata received his B.A. degree from Columbia University in 2008 and earned his Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute in 2013 under the guidance of Prof. Phil S. Baran. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. Frances H. Arnold at Caltech, he began his independent career at The Scripps Research Institute in 2016. His research focuses on synthetic and biosynthetic studies of natural products and biocatalytic reaction developments.

Find out more about him and the work his lab is doing on their webpage.

 

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Nominate for the 2021 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Nominations are now open for the 2021 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

This lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. Nominations can be made by anyone, so why not nominate a colleague, collaborator, or someone whose work you admire today?

Nominations must be submitted by 30 October 2020

Who can be nominated?

To be eligible for the Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship candidates must be within the first six years of their independent career, either in academia or industry, have started publishing independent papers and have made a significant contribution to natural products-related research.

How to nominate

Those wishing to make a nomination should email the following details to the Editorial Office at npr-rsc@rsc.org by 30 October 2020:

  • The name, affiliation and (if possible) web address of the nominee
  • At least one paragraph outlining the reasons for nomination. This should include brief details of the nominee’s contributions to their field. Additional supporting information, for example their CV, would be helpful but is not mandatory for making a nomination.

Selection procedure

The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided at nomination. The board will then vote to select the recipient and the winner will be announced in late 2020.

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New Editorial Board Members – Natural Product Reports

We are delighted to warmly welcome three new Editorial Board Members to our Natural Product ReportsProfessor Dong-Chan Oh (Seoul National University, South Korea), and Professor Eriko Takano (University of Manchester, UK), and Professor Changsheng Zhang (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, China Academy of Sciences, China).

Dong-Chan Oh studied oceanography and chemistry at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea. He obtained Ph. D. in marine natural products chemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2006. After graduation, he joined Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral research fellow and later worked as an instructor. In 2009, he started his independent academic career at Natural Products Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University in Korea. He conducted his research as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Early Career Scientist from 2012 to 2017. Dong-Chan Oh is currently a full professor of College of Pharmacy and the director of Natural Products Research Institute at Seoul National University.

His research focuses on the discovery, the structure elucidation, and the stereochemical determination of new bioactive natural products from microbes.

Eriko Takano is the Professor of Synthetic Biology in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, at the University of Manchester since 2012. In 2014, she was appointed as one of the three directors for the EPSRC/BBSRC-funded Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre, SYNBIOCHEM and in 2018, she was appointed as the deputy head of department of Chemistry. Eriko graduated from Kitasato University in Japan and did her undergraduate project with Prof Satoshi Omura (2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine), before working at a R&D facility for a company, Meiji Seika Kaisha, for several years. After leaving industry, she obtained her PhD at the John Innes Institute, Norwich, UK, in 1994 on the regulation of antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor. Before her arrival in Manchester, she had been Associate Professor at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Assistant Professor (C1) at the Department of Microbiology / Biotechnology, University of Tübingen, in Germany.

Eriko is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the synthetic biology of microbes for antibiotic production. Her interests are in bioinformatics software development for designing natural products producers; untargeted metabolomics for chassis engineering in Streptomyces; secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathway assembly; and regulatory circuit engineering through signalling molecules and non-coding RNAs. Eriko has published 103 peer-reviewed papers and 4 book chapters and holds 5 patents. She is the Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and has served as an expert advisor for the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks on synthetic biology, where she contributed to a series of three official Opinions with major impact on the development of the field.

Changsheng Zhang obtained a BSc. in Biology (Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, 1994) and an MSc. in Biotechnolgy (East China University of Science and Technology, 1997). In 2002, he obtained his Ph.D in Chemical Microbiology (Bergische University of Wuppertal, Germany) with Prof. Dr. W. Piepersberg. He carried out postdoctoral research on natural product glycosylation studies with J. S. Thorson at University of Wisconsin, Madison (2003-2008). In 2008, he joined the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, China Academy of Sciences.

His research interest focuses on marine polycyclic natural product discovery and biosynthesis

You can find some of their most recent RSC publications below:


Bioinformatics for the synthetic biology of natural products: integrating across the Design–Build–Test cycle
Pablo Carbonell, Andrew Currin, Adrian J. Jervis, Nicholas J. W. Rattray, Neil Swainston, Cunyu Yan, Eriko Takano and Rainer Breitling
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2016, 33, 925-932, DOI: 10.1039/C6NP00018E, Highlight

Switchable foldamer ion channels with antibacterial activity
Anna D. Peters, Stefan Borsley, Flavio della Sala, Dominic F. Cairns-Gibson, Marios Leonidou, Jonathan Clayden, George F. S. Whitehead, Iñigo J. Vitórica-Yrezábal, Eriko Takano, John Burthem, Scott L. Cockroft and Simon J. Webb
Chem. Sci., 2020, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/D0SC02393K, Edge Article

Functional characterization of the halogenase SpmH and discovery of new deschloro-tryptophan dimers
Zhiwen Liu, Liang Ma, Liping Zhang, Wenjun Zhang, Yiguang Zhu, Yuchan Chen, Weimin Zhang and Changsheng Zhang
Org. Biomol. Chem., 2019, 17, 1053-1057, DOI: 10.1039/C8OB02775G, Communication

Heterologous expression of the trichostatin gene cluster and functional characterization of N-methyltransferase TsnB8
Wei Liu, Vinay Gopal Jannu, Zhiwen Liu, Qingbo Zhang, Xiaodong Jiang, Liang Ma, Wenjun Zhang, Changsheng Zhang and Yiguang Zhu
Org. Biomol. Chem., 2020, 18, 3649-3653, DOI: 10.1039/D0OB00617C, Communication

Activation and characterization of a cryptic gene cluster reveals a cyclization cascade for polycyclic tetramate macrolactams
Subhasish Saha, Wenjun Zhang, Guangtao Zhang, Yiguang Zhu, Yuchan Chen, Wei Liu, Chengshan Yuan, Qingbo Zhang, Haibo Zhang, Liping Zhang, Weimin Zhang and Changsheng Zhang
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 1607-1612, DOI: 10.1039/C6SC03875A, Edge Article

Identification and bioactivity evaluation of secondary metabolites from Antarctic-derived Penicillium chrysogenum CCTCC M 2020019
Imran Khan, Haibo Zhang, Wei Liu, Liping Zhang, Fang Peng, Yuchan Chen, Qingbo Zhang, Guangtao Zhang, Weimin Zhang and Changsheng Zhang
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 20738-20744, DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03529G, Paper

Characterization of the flavoenzyme XiaK as an N-hydroxylase and implications in indolosesquiterpene diversification
Qingbo Zhang, Huixian Li, Lu Yu, Yu Sun, Yiguang Zhu, Hanning Zhu, Liping Zhang, Shu-Ming Li, Yuemao Shen, Changlin Tian, Ang Li, Hung-wen Liu and Changsheng Zhang
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 5067-5077, DOI: 10.1039/C7SC01182B

Flavoenzyme CrmK-mediated substrate recycling in caerulomycin biosynthesis
Yiguang Zhu, Marie-Ève Picard, Qingbo Zhang, Julie Barma, Xavier Murphy Després, Xiangui Mei, Liping Zhang, Jean-Baptiste Duvignaud, Manon Couture, Weiming Zhu, Rong Shi and Changsheng Zhang
Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 4867-4874, DOI: 10.1039/C6SC00771F, Edge Article

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Nominations open for 2020 Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Nominations are now open for the 2020 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

This lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. Nominations can be made by anyone, so why not nominate a colleague, collaborator, or someone whose work you admire today?

Nominate by 30 September 2019

Who can be nominated?

To be eligible for the Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship candidates must be within the first six years of their independent career, either in academia or industry, have started publishing independent papers and have made a significant contribution to natural products-related research.

Lectureship details

The recipient will be invited to present a lecture at a conference during 2020 and will receive £500 towards travel and accommodation costs. They will also be presented with a commemorative framed certificate and invited to contribute an article to Natural Product Reports.

How to nominate

Those wishing to make a nomination should email the following details to the Editorial Office at npr-rsc@rsc.org by 30 September 2019:

  • The name, affiliation and (if possible) web address of the nominee
  • At least one paragraph outlining the reasons for nomination. This should include brief details of the nominee’s contributions to their field. Additional supporting information, for example their CV, would be helpful but is not mandatory for making a nomination.

Selection procedure

The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided at nomination. The board will then vote to select the recipient and the winner will be announced in late 2019.

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2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship

The Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career.


We are delighted to announce that Professor Mohammad R. “Mo” Seyedsayamdost has been chosen by the Natural Product Reports Editorial Board to receive the 2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

His lab is interested in the discovery, structure, function, and biosynthesis of natural products from microbial sources, with an emphasis on bioactive cryptic metabolites. These studies blend approaches from microbiology, bacterial genetics, natural product chemistry, and enzymology.

 

 

“It is an honor and a privilege to receive the NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

I am grateful to the selection committee, my mentors (Liz, JoAnne, Jon, and Roberto) for their constant support, as well as the members of my lab for their hard work.” – Prof. Mo Seyedsayamdost

 

More about Mo…

Mo obtained an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and completed his thesis in the laboratory of Prof. Lizbeth Hedstrom. He then joined the Department of Chemistry at MIT and earned a PhD degree under the guidance of Prof. JoAnne Stubbe. His PhD thesis investigated the mechanism of long-range radical transfer in class I ribonucleotide reductases. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in the research groups of Prof. Jon Clardy and Prof. Roberto Kolter, where he examined the roles of natural products in mediating microbial interspecies interactions. In 2013, Mo started his independent career at Princeton University.

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2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship Nominations

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

This lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. Nominations can be made by anyone, so why not nominate a colleague, collaborator, or someone whose work you admire today?

Nominate by 12 September 2018

 
Who can be nominated?

To be eligible for the Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship candidates must be within the first six years of their independent career, either in academia or industry, have started publishing independent papers and have made a significant contribution to natural products-related research.

 
Lectureship details

The recipient will be invited to present a lecture at a conference during 2019 and will receive £500 towards travel and accommodation costs. They will also be presented with a commemorative framed certificate and invited to contribute an article to Natural Product Reports.

 
How to nominate

Those wishing to make a nomination should email the following details to the Editorial Office at NPR-RSC@rsc.org by 12 September 2018:

  • The name, affiliation and (if possible) web address of the nominee
  • At least one paragraph outlining the reasons for nomination. This should include brief details of the nominee’s contributions to their field. Additional supporting information, for example their CV, would be helpful but is not mandatory for making a nomination.

 
Selection procedure

The Natural Product Reports Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided at nomination. The board will then vote to select the recipient and the winner will be announced in late 2018.

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