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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2020 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship

It is with great pleasure that we announce Prof. Alison Narayan (University of Michigan) as the recipient of the 2020 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 Alison Narayan has been chosen by the Natural Product Reports Editorial Board to receive the 2020 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

 

Her lab is interested in harnessing the powerful reactivity and selectivity of chemistry that exists in nature, to develop new tools and approaches for creating biologically interesting and beneficial molecules.

 

More about Alison…

Alison obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan before pursuing a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2012, she joined the Sherman lab at the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral research fellow and in 2015, Alison began her independent career at University of Michigan as an assistant professor.  Alison’s main research interest is identifiying enzymes from secondary metabolite pathways with potential synthetic utility and developing methods based on these biocatalysts to enable access to biologically active target molecules.

 

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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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Mo Seyedsayamdost wins the 2019 NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Mo receiving the NPR Emerging Investigator Lectureship

Earlier this year, Natural Product Reports was delighted to announce that Professor Mohammad R. “Mo” Seyedsayamdost was chosen by the Natural Product Reports Editorial Board to receive the 2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship, which he has now been awarded at the recent ACS Orlando symposium.

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.

“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, where 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.

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Tobias Gulder – NPR’s new Chair of the Editorial Board

We are delighted to announce that Professor Tobias A. M. Gulder is the new Chair of the Natural Product Reports Editorial Board.

“Natural Product Reports has been my favorite journal for critical reviews in natural product chemistry since entering the field as a graduate student. I became a member of the Editorial Board of NPR in 2017 and have since enjoyed working with the Royal Society of Chemistry Editorial Team and the Board Members to further develop the journal. I feel honored to succeed Brad Moore as the Chair of the journal and look forward to continue his successful work for the natural product community.”

We are very grateful to Professor Bradley Moore for all of his contributions to the journal during his years with us as an Editorial Board member and then as Chair.

As we wish Professor Moore well with his future endeavours we warmly welcome Professor Gulder to his new position, leading the journal to continued success.

About Tobias

Tobias A. M. Gulder holds degrees in Chemistry from the University of Würzburg (Diploma 2004, PhD 2008). After postdoctoral training at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography with Bradley Moore (2008-2010) he started his independent work as a Liebig and Emmy Noether fellow at the University of Bonn (2011-2014). In 2014 he accepted to offer to join the Technical University of Munich as Professor of Biosystems Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry and the Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM). In 2019 he became the Chair of Technical Biochemistry at the Technical University of Dresden.

Professor Gulder’s research interests focus on the structure, biosynthesis and synthesis of bacterial natural products. This includes the elucidation of new biosynthetic transformations and their application to the biocatalytic synthesis of natural products as well as the manipulation of biosynthetic pathways to generate new molecular structures.

 

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2019 Natural Product Reports Emerging Investigator Lectureship

It is with great pleasure that we announce Prof. Mohammad R. “Mo” Seyedsayamdost (Princeton University) as the recipient of the 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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Applied Natural Products Symposium

We are proud to announce that Natural Product Reports is sponsoring Applied Natural Products symposium.  The symposium runs from 11th – 13th June 2018 and is being held at École polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.

The focus of the symposium is around the themes of biosynthesis, total synthesis, metabolomics, isolation and analysis, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

Speakers include:

  • Dr Olga Genilloud (Fondacion Medina) – Exploring microbial collections as source of novel natural products
  • Professor Marcel Jaspars (University of Aberdeen) – Discovering and modifying natural products for biomedical applications
  • Professor Helge B. Bode (Goethe-Universität) – Peptide natural products made by microbes and men: From chemical ecology to biotechnological production
  • Professor Mathias Christmann (Freie Universität) – Synthesis of Polycyclic Terpenes
  • Professor Sylvie Baudino-Caissard (Université Jean Monnet) – Biosynthesis of rose scent compounds

A full list of speakers are available online.

Registration is free and the deadline is 15th May 2018.

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New Editorial Board Members

We are delighted to welcome two new Editorial Board Members to Natural Product Reports. Professor Hendrik Luesch (University of Florida, USA) and Dr Marnix Medema (Wageningen University, Netherlands).

Professor Hendrik Luesch leads a multidisciplinary marine natural products research program that integrates isolation, synthesis, pharmacology, mechanism of action and early development studies. Find out more on his lab’s webpage.

Hendrik obtained his PhD at University of Hawaii with Richard E. Moore in 2002. He undertook three years of postdoctoral studies  as an Irving S. Sigal Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute with Peter G. Schultz. Since 2005 he has been faculty at the University of Florida (UF) and is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.

 

 

 


Dr Marnix Medema’s group currently develops and applies computational tools to understand bacterial, fungal and plant natural product biosynthesis from a genomic perspective. Find out more on his webpage.

Marnix completed his PhD in 2013 in the groups of Eriko Takano and Rainer Breitling at the University of Groningen. In 2015, following a postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Frank Oliver Glöckner (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany), he joined Wageningen University.

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Natural Products in OBC

Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, our sister journal, publishes many articles that cover a variety of natural product chemistry.

We try to keep you updated here, although signing up to OBC’s e-alert (free service) means you will receive the tables of content directly in your inbox every time an issue is published.

Hand-picked for you from the latest issues are:

Synthesis of monoalkylidene diketopiperazines and application to the synthesis of barettin
Elizabeth W. Kelley, Skylar G. Norman and Jonathan R. Scheerer
DOI: 10.1039/C7OB02297B

Stereocontrolled synthesis and investigation of the biosynthetic transformations of 16(S),17(S)-epoxy-PDn-3 DPA
Karoline Gangestad Primdahl, Jørn Eivind Tungen, Patricia Regina Soares De Souza, Romain Alexandre Colas, Jesmond Dalli, Trond Vidar Hansen and Anders Vik
DOI: 10.1039/C7OB02113E

Total synthesis of (−)-aritasone via the ultra-high pressure hetero-Diels–Alder dimerisation of (−)-pinocarvone
Maliha Uroos, Phillip Pitt, Laurence M. Harwood, William Lewis, Alexander J. Blake and Christopher J. Hayes
DOI: 10.1039/C7OB02204B

Unprecedented 22,26-seco physalins from Physalis angulata and their anti-inflammatory potential
Cheng-Peng Sun, Mahmood Brobbey Oppong, Feng Zhao, Li-Xia Chen and Feng Qiu
DOI: 10.1039/C7OB02205K

Doubling the power of DP4 for computational structure elucidation
K. Ermanis, K. E. B. Parkes, T. Agbackb and J. M. Goodman
DOI: 10.1039/C7OB01379E

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