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RSC Advances 2022 Outstanding Student Paper Award webinars

We are delighted to announce the winners of our 2022 Outstanding Student Paper Awards. We are celebrating this year’s winners with a series of webinars and encouraging submissions for 2023 and onwards!

The RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards recognise outstanding work published in the journal, for which a substantial component of the research was conducted by a student. For 2022 we received over 550 nominations, which were shortlisted, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

 

You can view the winning contributions and hear more about the winners here:

Editorial        Full Collection

In the series of webinars, award winners will present their research and there will be an opportunity to ask the winners questions about their work.

Registration is free, so sign up now by clicking the your chosen session below, to support our winners and hear about the exciting research that helped them to win the award!

 

Outstanding Student Paper Award Webinars

Session 1: 11th October, 2023
9:00 BST | 10:00 CEST | 16:00 CST
Session 2: 18th October, 2023
8:00 PDT | 11:00 EDT | 16:00 BST
Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Toni Pringle, Newcastle University, UK Analytical Chemistry Margaret MacConnachie, Queen’s University, Canada
Energy Chemistry Karina Asheim, NTNU, Norway Computational & Theoretical Chemistry Stephanie Linker & Christian Schellhaas, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Nanoscience Rabia Tahir, NUST, Pakistan Inorganic Chemistry Nicole DiBlasi, University of Notre Dame, USA
Physical Chemistry Rawia Msalmi, Sfax University, Tunisia Materials Chemistry Despoina Eleftheriadou, UCL, UK
  Organic Chemistry Alejandro O. Viviano-Posadas, NAUM, Mexico
[Registration link] [Registration link]

Apologies from a few of our winners who are unable to attend: Catalysis Gen Li, Dalian University of Technology, China; Environmental Chemistry Cui Li, China University of Geosciences, China; Food Chemistry Xingyu Ding, Nanjing Tech University, China

Looking forward: RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2023 and onwards

We will continue to recognise outstanding student contributions and give out these awards each year. If you published a research article in 2023 or go on to publish with the journal in the future, and the first author or co-first author must have been a student at the time of carrying out the research, we invite them to join us in future editions of this series. Please look at our webpage for more information or submit now!

 

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

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International Women’s Day – Editorial Board Members

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on March 8th to honour the achievements of women all around the world. IWD has been observed since 1911 and remains significant in driving positive change for women. In honour of this day, at RSC Advances, would like to take the opportunity to highlight some members of our Editorial Board and Associate Editor group. These members share some of their own perspectives of being a woman in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and provide some guidance for researchers.

Prof Karen Faulds, Editor-in-Chief, University of Strathclyde, UK

Karen FauldsWhat are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

Early in my career the majority of speakers at conferences and in leadership roles were white males. Very few women were invited to speak at conferences therefore as an early career researcher there were very few visible female role models. It means it was harder and often took longer for a women in science to get visibility for their research through invitations to conferences and to be involved in leadership roles. Work still needs to be done on this aspect but it is better than it was 20 years ago with more emphasis on ensuring woman are represented but we also need to make sure that the science community as a whole is represented at conferences and committees. Role models for all aspects of the community are needed that early career scientists can identify with!

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap?

In academia there are challenges around short term contracts through postdoctoral years and having to move to different institutions, as well as competition for academic positions, meaning there is a huge amount of job instability which is extremely difficult for people with caring responsibilities. The system does not support this and many women chose to leave academia to have more stable positions that support more stable and flexible working. This needs to change.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Find a good mentor and take advantages of all opportunities that come your way!

Karen’s top publications:

Depth prediction of nanotags in tissue using surface enhanced spatially offset Raman scattering (SESORS)
Matthew E. Berry, Samantha M. McCabe, Neil C. Shand, Duncan Graham and Karen Faulds
Chem. Commun., 2022,58, 1756-1759

Rapid ultra-sensitive diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection using a SERS-based lateral flow assay
Waleed A. Hassanain, Julia Spoors, Christopher L. Johnson, Karen Faulds, Neil Keegan and Duncan Graham
Analyst, 2021,146, 4495-4505

Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy with spectral phasor analysis: applications in assessing drug–cell interactions
William J. Tipping, Liam T. Wilson, Connie An, Aristea A. Leventi, Alastair W. Wark, Corinna Wetherill, Nicholas C. O. Tomkinson, Karen Faulds and Duncan Graham
Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 3468-3476

Prof Shirley Nakagaki Bastos, Editorial Board Member, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil

Shirley Nakagaki RSC Advances Editorial BoardWhat are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

As a woman aiming to become a scientist in the field of chemistry and at the same time wanting to build a family, I faced a few issues during grad school, such as the need to create, together with my husband, a support network that was conciliatory with my research activities. Finding a full-time day care that had quality and was affordable, considering our scholarship budget at the time, was a challenge. Another one was the lack of outstanding inspiring female examples in the sciences in general, because even if they existed, they were not well-known. In addition, I took some time to recognize that there is gender inequality in the various sciences and therefore lack of discussion and search for solutions, among many other factors that discouraged girls from opting for this area of activity. Throughout my career I have seen a lot of progress in this area, mainly regarding the greater discussion of the need for a more pluralistic environment with regard to gender issues, working in the science area.

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap?

Gender stereotypes are established in different cultures and areas of activity, mainly STEM, and the lack of information and knowledge contributes to their perpetuation. And, looking at my journey, I see how having a good support network, access to quality daycare and being able to count on my husband gave me the peace of mind to focus on my career as much as I wanted. I believe that only through the discussion of problems, knowledge and education can we arrive at answers that will act to reduce this gap.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Everyday we face problems that can have solutions based on scientific knowledge and this knowledge can be discovered by anyone who is interested in the scientific solution, regardless of their gender. So, when it comes to the development of a scientific career, if it is their wish, researchers can, are able, and will be successful!

Shirley’s top publications:

Synthesis, crystallographic characterization and homogeneous catalytic activity of novel unsymmetric porphyrins
A. R. Antonangelo, K. C. M. Westrup, L. A. Burt, C. Grazia Bezzu, T. Malewschik, G. S. Machado, F. S. Nunes, N. B. McKeown and S. Nakagaki
RSC Adv., 2017,7, 50610-50618

New highly brominated Mn-porphyrin: a good catalyst for activation of inert C–H bonds
Vinicius Santos da Silva, Shirley Nakagaki, Geani Maria Ucoski, Ynara Marina Idemori and Gilson DeFreitas-Silva
RSC Adv., 2015,5, 106589-106598

Fabienne Dumoulin, Editorial Board Member and Associate Editor, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Türkiye

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

I would say that problems started when I started to have ambition and apply to more prestigious tasks and positions. In a society I am involved with, I had to fight to have maternity considered in age calculations for young investigator awards. Also, when I ask for a better gender balance in various scientific activities (symposium organization in congresses), I still face those who argue “it should be about excellence, not gender”.  Others argue “there are only 30% of women in our field, why should they be 50% in the board / committee / etc…”. If this is the case, they should rather wonder about the 30% ratio! It is hard to pinpoint significant progresses, it seems to be one step forward and one step back.

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap?

The use of friendly but still respectful/considerate words should be used to describe/mention women. I remember a French professor who designated all female colleagues by “fillette” (meaning little girl), from students to full professor, without realizing the implications. When there are decisions to make, being a “fillette” does not help ascertain your credibility and generate respect. Also, how many colleagues, when learning that a female postgrad student is pregnant, immediately say “oh, she will not complete her Msc/PhD, for sure” instead of wondering how they could help? In their private lives, many women do not have a supportive partner who does their part at home – and I chose my words carefully because it is frustrating to hear male colleagues say they “help” their wife/partner. They are not “helping”, they are just doing their part.

Sadly, I do believe gender and other minority quotas work. I would prefer to be included in something “just because I am woman”, and be able to prove I actually deserve to be there, rather than not be included at all.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Find other friendly (female or not) researchers and watch and warn each other when you suspect or see a gender-biased behaviour. Be kind to yourself: you have enough burden, it is not your mission to change the system alone, do not feel guilty if you don’ manage to or don’t have the strength to try. Be kind with all other women, including students, cleaning, and admin staff.

The theme of this year’s IWD is Embrace Equity. Do you have any recommendations for improving the STEM workforce to create an environment that better supports women?

  • Do not let it be only a front to say something has been done, be active
  • Defend long paternity leaves in academia
  • Fight toxic metrics and evaluation criteria
  • Increase funding

Fabienne’s top publications:

Far-red triplet sensitized Z-to-E photoswitching of azobenzene in bioplastics
Pankaj Bharmoria, Shima Ghasemi, Fredrik Edhborg, Raúl Losantos, Zhihang Wang, Anders Mårtensson, Masa-aki Morikawa, Nobuo Kimizuka,Ümit İşci, Fabienne Dumoulin, Bo Albinsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen
Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 11904-11911

Phthalocyanine-based mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles: NIR photodynamic efficiency and siRNA photochemical internalization
Gülçin Ekineker, Christophe Nguyen, Sümeyra Bayır, Sofia Dominguez Gil, Ümit İşci, Morgane Daurat, Anastasia Godefroy, Laurence Raehm, Clarence Charnay, Erwan Oliviero, Vefa Ahsen, Magali Gary-Bobo, Jean-Olivier Durand and Fabienne Dumoulin
Chem. Commun., 2019,55, 11619-11622

The unique features and promises of phthalocyanines as advanced photosensitisers for photodynamic therapy of cancer
Pui-Chi Lo, M. Salomé Rodríguez-Morgade, Ravindra K. Pandey, Dennis K. P. Ng, Tomás Torres and Fabienne Dumoulin
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2020,49, 1041-1056

Check out our Women in Chemistry page to learn more about women working as chemists and the issues that affect them in science education.

In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry published a report to assess if publishing in the chemical sciences is gender biased. The full report and guidance as a result of the findings can be viewed here https://www.rsc.org/new-perspectives/talent/gender-bias-in-publishing

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International Women’s Day – Associate Editors

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on March 8th to honour the achievements of women all around the world. IWD has been observed since 1911 and remains significant in driving positive change for women. In honour of this day, at RSC Advances, would like to take the opportunity to highlight some members of our Editorial Board and Associate Editor group. These members share some of their own perspectives of being a woman in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and provide some guidance for researchers.

Prof Shannon Biros, Associate Editor, Grand Valley State University, USA

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

I would tell early career female researchers to never give up. Building a career in science is hard; I think it is hard for everyone, just in different ways. I would tell them that they are going to make plenty of mistakes, and when they do to learn from them and move forward. I would tell them to always stand up for themselves, and to trust their instincts. I would tell them that they are smart enough, they do work hard enough, and they do belong here. And then I would tell them that balance is important, to make sure they have friends and interests outside of their career. Lastly, I would tell them that they should have a job that they look forward to going to every day (well…most days) that brings them joy. If their current job doesn’t do that, then it’s time to reassess. But to always remember that they can do this, and that just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not right.

Shannon’s top publications:

Synthesis of diphenyl-(2-thienyl)phosphine, its chalcogenide derivatives and a series of novel complexes of lanthanide nitrates and triflates
Troy Luster, Hannah J. Van de Roovaart, Kyle J. Korman, Georgia G. Sands, Kylie M. Dunn, Anthony Spyker, Richard J. Staples,  Shannon M. Biros and John E. Bender
Dalton Trans., 2022,51, 9103-9115

Supramolecular ligands for the extraction of lanthanide and actinide ions
Eric J. Werner and Shannon M. Biros
Org. Chem. Front., 2019,6, 2067-2094

X-ray crystallographic, luminescence and NMR studies of phenacyldiphenylphosphine oxide with the Ln(iii) ions Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb and Dy
Erin G. Leach, Justin R. Shady, Adam C. Boyden, Anne-lise Emig, Alyssa T. Henry, Emily K. Connor, Richard J. Staples, Stephanie Schaertel, Eric J. Werner and Shannon M. Biros
Dalton Trans., 2017,46, 15458-15469

Dr Vandana Bhalla, Associate Editor, Guru Nanak Dev University, India

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

In the field, I have definitely faced my share of challenges. Starting from the basic level of scoring a job interview and unfavourable work environment due to subconscious and unintended gender insensitivity. To receive similar levels of recognition/respect for my research work as received by male colleagues, I had to show exceptional productivity.
Fortunately, I am lucky enough to witness the positive progress in the field. We are now initiating the conversation about this issue at all levels. Multiple initiatives have already been started to achieve gender equity in STEM like increased job openings, funding opportunities for women.

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap?

In my opinion, there are multiple prejudices that contribute towards the large gender gap in STEM. It is common practice to refer a male researcher as ‘Scientist ‘ while the female counterpart is referred as ‘Female Scientist’. The general perception about STEM as a career is that it requires high intelligent quotient (IQ) and low emotional quotient (EQ) and consequently, people with high EQs are usually considered unsuitable for the field.

To close the gap, efforts are needed at multiple educational levels starting from the primary schools. It is important to educate young minds that there is no competition to prove gender superiority rather we are working as a team to build sustainable future through positive initiatives in STEM.

Why do you think it is that women are often under-represented at senior levels? What are the benefits of taking on a leadership role?

According to me there is an uneven competition in the pathway to reach up the ladder.
Taking up leadership roles is essential in shaping the careers of young researchers. It is important to have an opportunity to bring your opinion to the table. Often women participation at senior levels is to complete the checklist, it is imperative to turn it into true representation.

The theme of this year’s IWD is Embrace Equity. Do you have any recommendations for improving the STEM workforce to create an environment that better supports women?

Honestly, I believe that holistic approach is required to improve effective participation of women in STEM. Interventions should be made at multiple levels starting from promoting gender equity at home, gender sensitivity at educational institutions and gender inclusivity at work place. More job openings and research opportunities should be created to close the gap.

Vandana’s top publications:

Enzyme-/metal-free quinoxaline assemblies: direct light-up detection of cholesterol in human serum
Amrit Kaur, Manoj Kumar and Vandana Bhalla
Chem. Commun., 2023,59, 1501-1504

A photocatalytic ensemble HP-T@Au-Fe3O4: synergistic and balanced operation in Kumada and Heck coupling reactions
Harpreet Kaur, Manoj Kumar and Vandana Bhalla
Green Chem., 2020,22, 8036-8045

Visible light promoted PANI@Au:CuO catalyzed sequential amination, azidation and annulation for the preparation of 2-arylbenzimidazoles
Radhika Chopra, Manoj Kumar, Neelam and Vandana Bhalla
Green Chem., 2019,21, 3666-3674

Dr Estelle Roth, Associate Editor, University of Reims, France

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap?

In my opinion, the main obstacle lies in the self-censorship of women in the consideration of a scientific career due to lack of confidence and a position behind the male sex. Many actions are currently being conducted to remedy this situation; for example, in France, the association Femmes et Sciences, of which I am a member, promotes scientific studies among young girls and supports doctoral students at the end of their thesis and in the construction of their careers. As well, recruitment of assistant professors to limit gender bias…. and so on.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Recruitment of lecturers is accompanied by training to limit gender bias. So my main advice would be to be self-confident and ambitious, and don’t worry about pregnancy affecting your career.

Why do you think it is that women are often under-represented at senior levels? What are the benefits of taking on a leadership role?

Women are still underrepresented in high responsibility jobs. I don’t think they are hindered in taking on responsibility, but they are not recognized in an official capacity. For example, being a woman should not affect whether you are the project investigator of a scientific project. Gender balance is a requirement for institutions. However, it is still much more difficult for women to reach the status of Professor or Director of a scientific institute. Women face the “glass ceiling” as we say in French!

Estelle’s top publications:

Gas-phase UV absorption spectra and OH-oxidation kinetics of 1H-1,2,3-triazole and pyrazole
Brahim Samir, Carmen Kalalian, Estelle Roth, Rachid Salghi and Abdelkhaleq Chakir 
RSC Adv., 2019,9, 27361-27368

Prof Shivani Bhardwaj Mishra, Associate Editor, University of South Africa, Johannesburg

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

Being a woman, the challenges started appearing at the very start of my academic journey as a student transitioning to a career in STEM. I could not score any fellowships for any of my degrees, and therefore made myself self-sufficient in pursing higher studies by outsourcing my knowledge as a tutor. The challenge was juggling university and work to contribute towards my academic expenses. At the time, it was tiring and demotivating but it helped me to develop teaching skills as well as retain the fundamentals of my chosen discipline and its implementation to research and development. A challenge can be difficult but if it is taken advantage of it can transform career. The opportunity in higher education lacked resources but even this challenge was a blessing in disguise that made me understand the value of collaboration, which also helped me to develop global networking at a later stage of my career.

What do you think are the main factors perpetuating the gender gap in STEM fields, and what can we do to help close this gap

Unfortunately, its a huge gap. There are many factors for this, including underestimating the capabilities of women understanding STEM, and the patriarchal power play that involves demoralising ambitious women. To add onto is social stigma, there are set norms for woman regarding families, society and academic fraternity. STEM is gender biased just like any other sector. There is a need to bridge the gap in order to provide a platform for the flowers to bloom to their and contribute or participate towards further scientific advancement. For this, the academic sector has to work together with Government and other academic bodies at their respective levels to promote gender equity in STEM by introducing more fellowships, positions, academic women’s organizations and universities dedicated to uplift the STEM gap.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

The best advise to early career female researchers is “Never give up girls” if STEM is your dream. Transform your challenge into a long term investment for your career. Identify the purpose of your dreams and your life and respect your existence. No challenge is bigger or difficult than your will power. Stay patient when time tests you or your passion and keep working hard and the right opportunity will knock on your door at the right time.

The theme of this year’s IWD is Embrace Equity. Do you have any recommendations for improving the STEM workforce to create an environment that better supports women?

I would recommend new opportunities dedicated to women, new STEM institutions supporting only women both at leadership positions and as a work force. Promoting their achievements and contributing towards career development. Celebrating their performances locally and globally to present role models to new generation of STEM. Bring forward the historical STEM women who made significant contributions by organizing funds, holding conferences, colloquium, and symposiums in the name of these STEM women. Special issues dedicated to woman scientists could provide assistance, as well as support, through fellowships.

Shivani’s top publications:

Mechanistic pathways for the degradation of SMX drug and floatation of degraded products using F–Pt co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts
Majid Jahdi, Shivani B. Mishra, Edward N. Nxumalo, Sabelo D. Mhlanga and Ajay K. Mishra
RSC Adv., 2020,10, 27662-27675

Dr Xi Chen, Associate Editor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far? Why do you think it is that women are often under-represented at senior levels? What are the benefits of taking on a leadership role?

As a female researcher, I am delighted to be invited by RSC Advances to share my experience. When I was looking for a faculty position, women were still underrepresented in many fields of science, particularly in leadership positions. But today, more women are entering the field of science and pursuing advanced degrees in STEM fields. And more women are being appointed to leadership positions in science. For example, two women—Prof Lesley Yellowlees and Dame Carol Vivien Robinson—have held the presidency of RSC in the past ten years. These women can help us better advocate for gender equality in STEM fields. These are all gratifying progress. Also, as a mother, I sometimes struggle to balance my work and personal life. Fortunately, I have family members and colleagues who always support me on the road of scientific research, take care of me and share happiness with me.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Some women with great scientific research potential may give up their favourite career due to the pressure of some traditional ideas or the need to take on more family tasks, but I want to encourage those outstanding female researchers not to give up easily, but to follow their hearts, be the truest self and don’t set limits on life. There may be a lot of challenges for early female researchers, but I hope we can have more courage and determination to go the way we like.

Xi’s top publications:

Acid hydrolysis of chitin in calcium chloride solutions
Yudi Wang, Jia Kou, Xuewei Wanga and Xi Chen
Green Chem., 2023, Advance Article

Base-catalysed, one-step mechanochemical conversion of chitin and shrimp shells into low molecular weight chitosan
Xi Chen, Huiying Yang, Ziyi Zhong and Ning Yan 
Green Chem., 2017,19, 2783-2792

Direct conversion of chitin into a N-containing furan derivative
Xi Chen, Shu Ling Chew, Francesca M. Kerton and Ning Yan
Green Chem., 2014,16, 2204-2212

Prof Abha Misra, Associate Editor, IISc Bangalore, India

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

It is difficult to find support from women and mentors to give advice on how to tackle the challenges that you face to make any significant progress in your early career. A slow and steady progress pays off in a long run.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

My advice is to see challenges as opportunities which bring a completely different perspective and can help with positive progress. It is important to be role model for other women facing similar problems and be part of the system to make changes for the young women of the future.

The theme of this year’s IWD is Embrace Equity. Do you have any recommendations for improving the STEM workforce to create an environment that better supports women?

Provide a support system to ensure an environment of trust and enable an understanding of the challenges faced. Women should also be given support at senior levels especially when it becomes important to have more role models.

Abha’s top publications:

Self-powered ZnO-based pyro-phototronic photodetectors: impact of heterointerfaces and parametric studies
Vinod Panwar, Sukanta Nandi, Mandira Majumder and Abha Misra
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 12487-12510

Role of the electrode-edge in optically sensitive three-dimensional carbon foam-MoS2 based high-performance micro-supercapacitors
Sumana Kumar, Anwesha Mukherjee, Swanand Telpande, Ayon Das Mahapatra, Praveen Kumar and Abha Misra 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 4963-4976

Stacked vanadium pentoxide–zinc oxide interface for optically-chargeable supercapacitors
Pankaj Singh Chauhan, Sumana Kumar, Anindita Mondal, Pragya Sharma, Mihir N. Parekh, Vinod Panwar, Apparao M. Rao and Abha Misra
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 95-107

Dr Donna Arnold, Associate Editor, University of Kent, UK

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

Early in my career I found that I would be the only woman in a meeting. Sometimes this even meant that no one would know where female toilets were located! This could make you feel like you did not belong. Things have changed. There is now normally much wider representation in meetings and on the occasions where this is not the case there is enough awareness to ensure that it is a meeting of scientific equality.

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Change will only come from within. Do not be put off if you find yourselves in challenging environments and do not feel guilty for striving to have a career and a family. Both are possible. Remember that you are the voices of change and that once you get to the later part of your own career you are the voice that will inspire next generations and facilitate further change.

Why do you think it is that women are often under-represented at senior levels? What are the benefits of taking on a leadership role?

Whilst things are definitely changing women are more likely to take career breaks and then juggle family life alongside a STEM career. The demands of senior management often pulls against this. Additionally, these roles often require a certain seniority and thus also come about when women are entering menopause. This comes with self-doubt and other complicated emotional, mental health and physical states. We are still not open enough about menopause and the effects it can have on women and how that fits with delivering work demands.

Taking a leadership role can help to affect change and provide platform from which to do so. These are also the roles that end up shaping roles for early career individuals so it is important to have broad representation.

Donna’s top publications:

A new series of sodium cobalt oxyhydrates
Sundip Mistry, Donna C. Arnold, Chris J. Nuttall, Alexandros Lappas and Mark A. Green
Chem. Commun., 2004, 2440-2441

B-cation effects in relaxor and ferroelectric tetragonal tungsten bronzes
Donna C. Arnold and Finlay D. Morrison
J. Mater. Chem., 2009,19, 6485-6488

Investigation of the role of morphology on the magnetic properties of Ca2Mn3O8 materials
Laura J. Vera Stimpson, Silvia Ramos, Gavin B. G. Stenning, Marek Jura, Stephen Parry, Giannantonio Cibin and Donna C. Arnold 
Dalton Trans., 2017,46, 14130-14138

Dr Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi, Associate Editor, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, India

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in science and what positive progress have you seen throughout your career so far?

Meeting both domestic responsibilities and professional activities has been a major challenge throughout my career. I have always motivated myself to do so. 

What advice would you give to early career female researchers?

Equal opportunities have rarely been given to female researchers. So my advice to early career researchers would be to motivate yourself and stay inspired, even by smaller successes and recognitions in your career. Don’t be defeated – follow your consciousness and success will follow.

The theme of this year’s IWD is Embrace Equity. Do you have any recommendations for improving the STEM workforce to create an environment that better supports women?

Flexibility in the work place! The lack of adequate numbers of female mentors is a lacuna in STEM.

Devi’s top publications:

Some interesting insights into the acetone sensing characteristics of monoclinic WO3
Puja Ghosh, M Manikandan, Shrabanee Sen, Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi,
Mater. Adv., 2023,4, 1146-1160

ZnO decorated ZnSnO3 as efficient fillers to PVDF: toward simultaneous enhancement of energy storage density and efficiency and improved energy harvesting activity
Abhishek Sasmal, Samar Kumar Medda, Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi, Shrabanee Sen Nano
Nanoscale, 2020,12, 20908-20921

Surface functionalized multifunctional ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles as ad carrier of hydrophobic and hydrophilic anti-cancer drug molecules
Debabrata Maiti, Arindam Saha and Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 1439-1450

Check out our Women in Chemistry page to learn more about women working as chemists and the issues that affect them in science education.

In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry published a report to assess if publishing in the chemical sciences is gender biased. The full report and guidance as a result of the findings can be viewed here https://www.rsc.org/new-perspectives/talent/gender-bias-in-publishing

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In this blog post, you can discover how RSC Advances supports a global community of chemical scientists. We talk about this journal’s incredible editorial board and wide-ranging scope. Start reading to learn more.

Advancing chemistry. Supporting scientists.

RSC Advances sits at the heart of the chemical science community. We are passionate about chemistry, and we want to champion incredible science from around the world. Our brilliant editorial board connects us to scientists all over the planet and makes sure that every action we take benefits you. In our journal, you can discover research from a vast range of topics. If you’re looking for a platform for your next article, you can be reassured that we will consider any research that advances chemistry for a better, brighter future.

Exceeding the limits of what is possible

Chemistry fascinates us. This discipline is integral to life and impacts so many aspects of our world. The scope of RSC Advances is wide-ranging because we want to capture any research that can offer crucial insights and advance chemistry.

You can find a full outline of our scope on our main page. However, if you’re working on something that isn’t included on this list, please do send it to us to consider.

Taking knowledge further than ever before

Our community spans the entire globe – the research we publish comes from scientists in many different countries and institutions. We wholeheartedly believe that science can only progress when everyone has the opportunity to be heard. That’s why we are proud to publish articles from all corners of the globe. In 2022, we published work from over 105 countries, and in the years to come, we hope to publish from even more.

Behind every paper we publish is a group of expert editors from 24 countries. Our editors-in-chief, Karen Faulds and Russell Cox, lead the way to make sure that we publish high quality science for our broad readership.

For us, it is not just about publishing work from many countries and having a global presence. We also want to make sure that everyone – including funders, policymakers and the general public – has free, unrestricted access to the research we publish. As a gold open access journal, we champion free knowledge exchange for scientific advancement.

Discover more

Start your publishing journey with help and support. We have a range of resources on offer and easy ways for you to stay connected.

Visit our main page

Head to the author hub

Sign up for email alerts

 

 

 

 

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August 2022 RSC Advances Review Articles

Welcome to August’s Review round up!

Every month we update our 2022 Reviews in RSC Advances collection to showcase all of the review articles published in RSC Advances in 2022. Don’t forget to come back next month to check out our latest reviews.

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Explore the full collection!

Browse a selection of our August reviews below:

Value-added materials recovered from waste bone biomass: technologies and applications
Abarasi Hart, Komonibo Ebiundu, Ebikapaye Peretomode, Helen Onyeaka, Ozioma Forstinus Nwabor and KeChrist Obileke
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 22302-22330

The role of electrochemical biosensors in SARS-CoV-2 detection: a bibliometrics-based analysis and review
Shudan Mao, Li Fu, Chengliang Yin, Xiaozhu Liu and Hassan Karimi-Maleh
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 22592-22607

Electrophilic halogenations of propargyl alcohols: paths to α-haloenones, β-haloenones and mixed β,β-dihaloenones
Pakorn Bovonsombat, Punyanuch Sophanpanichkul and Satreerat Losuwanakul
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 22678-22694

Advanced developments in environmentally friendly lubricants for water-based drilling fluid: a review
Xiangyang Zhao, Daqi Li, Heming Zhu, Jingyuan Mab and Yuxiu An
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 22853-22868

Heterocyclic compounds as a magic bullet for diabetes mellitus: a review
Umme Farwa and Muhammad Asam Raza
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 22951-22973

Transition metal oxides as a cathode for indispensable Na-ion batteries
Archana Kanwade, Sheetal Gupta, Akash Kankane, Manish Kumar Tiwari, Abhishek Srivastava, Jena Akash Kumar Satrughna, Subhash Chand Yadav and Parasharam M. Shirage
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 23284-23310

Insight into nanocrystal synthesis: from precursor decomposition to combustion
Buzuayehu Abebe, Dereje Tsegaye and H. C. Ananda Murthy
RSC Adv., 2022, 12,  24374-24389

Adipogenesis or osteogenesis: destiny decision made by mechanical properties of biomaterials
Ting Su, Mimi Xu, Feng Lu and Qiang Chang
RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 24501-24510

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

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Advancing with Advances- How to Publish and not Perish (Part 8): More Publishing Tips from Academic Editors

What happens to your paper after submission? 

Step by step assessment of papers by academic editors at RSC Advances

Meet the Editor:

Professor Leyong Wang is based at the Institute for Supramolecular Chemistry and Smart Materials at Nanjing University. He handles papers in the areas of drug delivery, organic catalysis, synthesis & assembly of nanomaterials.

Professor Leyong Wang, Nanjing University

1. What is the most common reason for rejecting a manuscript without review?

“As the associate editor, I am very pleased to receive and read well-organized and well written manuscripts with high quality and exciting results. Therefore, we could provide more excellent papers to our audience of our journal. When I receive a new submission, I will read the manuscript quickly, normally in 5-10 minutes.

Firstly, the cover letter is read, which is regarded as the dialogue between authors and Associate editors. From the cover letter, I would like to know the important background and the exciting results of the present research. Why did the authors think the contents of this manuscript are  exciting and challenging work?

Then, I will read the Graphic abstract and abstract quickly to know if the authors have clearly shown the exciting and informative results in present manuscript, and then if its contents lie inside the stated aims and scope of the journal.

Next, I will read the manuscript quickly while checking the References and Supporting information. From the introduction session, I would like to know if the authors establish the background of the problem studied and if the discussion only repeats the results but does not interpret them with the help of suitable literature cited. Some times, I realize that submitted manuscripts do not follow the format specified by our RSC journals. To be frank, it is a not pleasurable feeling during a quick reading. It means the authors did not read the authors guides of RSC Advances during the preparation of their manuscript. The authors should convince the associate editor, on behalf of readers to some degree, that the research is both sound and important through their writing.”

Last but not least, the professional supporting materials is very important to prevent the manuscript from being prescreened. I would like to see a  clear and professional description of experimental procedures. For the synthetic experiments, the reported compounds here should be given the physical data, for example 1H NMR and 13C NMR with in  professional style. I am sure, without the professional writing of experimental session and well updated suitable references, it is not easy to believe the reliability of results and discussion of a submitted manuscript.

I fully understand the feeling of authors when they receive the reject letter without reviewer reports. I do hope this kind of rapid decision is seen as favorable, because it allows the authors to quickly turn around the papers for submittal to a different journal, or to re-organize and re-write their manuscript for re-submission to us for consideration quickly. Of course, I do hope that this decision (Prescreen without review) will not discourage the authors from submitting the authors’ future work to us.

2. What is the best piece of advice you could give a submitting author?

“Writing a professional paper is a challenging job for our authors. In fact, it is not easy to give the best piece of advice. If I have to give one, in my opinion, in the process of writing research papers, it is would be better to give the draft outline of this research paper, knowing the highlights of your research papers, give a catchy and informative title to your research paper, then continue writing an abstract in a short paragraph which provides key information of submitting paper in an easy-to-grasp manner.

I also have a reminder here. Every author is suggested to read the pre-submitted manuscript carefully with the arrangement of the corresponding authors. This action could remove some typos and grammar errors, even such low-level “stupid” mistakes.
In the end, I always warmly welcome the authors to submit their high-quality, and exciting research work to our RSC  Journals with good preparation and wish our authors continued success in their  research endeavors.”

Meet the Editor:

Professor Andrea Pucci is a Full professor in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Pisa, Italy and handles papers related to solar energy, optical materials and nanomaterials.

1. What is the most common reason for rejecting a manuscript without review?

“Mainly due to the lack of novelties after a literature survey. Then, when the manuscript are reported with poor care in general of the RSC Advances regulations.””

2. What is the best piece of advice you could give a submitting author?

“In the introduction, clear statements of the novelties reported should be provided. Then, comparison of the main outcomes with those from the literature are appreciated.”

We hope that you find these insights from Professor Wang and Professor Pucci useful while writing your next paper!

Tune in next week for our final set of publishing tips from our academic Associate Editors !

You are welcome to send in any questions you have about peer-review or publishing to advances-rsc@rsc.org or post them on Twitter @RSCAdvances #AdvancingWithAdvances.

Don’t miss out on our previous tips on how to publish and not perish below:

Advancing with Advances (Part 1): featuring Professor Robert Baker (Trinity College Dublin)

Advancing with Advances (Part 2): featuring editorial insights from staff editors at RSC Advances

Advancing with Advances (Part 3): featuring  Professor Brenno A.D. Neto (Universidade de Brasília, Brazil) Dr. Donna Arnold (University of Kent, UK), and Professor Nestor Mariano Correa (Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Argentina)

Advancing with Advances (Part 4): featuring Professor Megan O’Mara (Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology), Dr Giacomo Saielli (University of Padova, Italy), and Dr Pablo Denis (Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay)

Advancing with Advances (Part 5): featuring Professor Franck Dumeignil (University of Lille, France) Professor Xi Chen (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China), and Professor Manojit Pal (Dr Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences, India)

Advancing with Advances (Part 6): featuring Dr. Ranjit Koodali (Western Kentucky University, USA), Professor Luigi Vaccaro ( University of Perugia, Italy), and Professor Thierry Ollevier, (Université Laval, Québec Canada)

Advancing with Advances (Part 7): featuring Professor Steven McIntosh, Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA and  Dr. Lubomír Rulíšek, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

 

 

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RSC Advances Popular Advances – an interview with Ali Rauf

We are very pleased to introduce Dr Ali Rauf, the corresponding author of the RSC Advances article Theoretical investigation of the optoelectronic response of highly correlated Cu3P photocatalyst. This paper became one of the newest additions to our Popular Advances collection. The Popular Advances collection is a selection of well-received RSC Advances articles, handpicked by our reviewers and handling editors.

Ali told us more about the work that went into this article and what he hopes to achieve in the future. If you would like to explore more of our Popular Advances, please find the full online collection here.

Meet the Author:

Ali Rauf presently works as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, LUMS. Ali completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea in 2018, and is now the PI of the Energy Materials groups at LUMS who specialize in materials design for energy environmental applications. During the initial years of Ali’s career, he has been more focused on experimental aspects of material design but over the period of time, he has realized the importance of theoretical study that actually compliments experimental results. Ali and his group have started studying various semiconductors using various DFT based approximations to find a theoretical explanation of experimental results. Ali and his group are very excited about this overlap between theoretical knowledge and experimentation, and will be employing DFT for the theoretical screening of suitable semiconductor materials for catalytic applications before the experimentation phase in any upcoming projects.

Could you briefly explain the focus of your article to the non-specialist (in one or two sentences only) and why it is of current interest?

The study focuses on finding the electronic and optical properties of a Cu3P semiconductor computationally using theoretical methods like Density Functional Theory (DFT). Moreover, advanced methods like the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) were also used to find the optical properties comprising excitonic effects.

How big an impact could your results potentially have?

Although Cu3P has found applications in visible light photocatalysis, theoretically, its optoelectronic response had not been extensively studied. We employed advanced theories (BSE and BSE@hyhrid functional) to understand the underlying electronic structure. These properties are vital to understanding Cu3P better and fine-tuning it for green energy applications.

Could you explain the motivation behind this study?

The aim was to perform the theoretical study on Cu3P and compare the data with the experimentally obtained absorption data. We wanted to go beyond Independent Particle Approximation (IPA) and consider electron-hole interaction via BSE for the studied semiconductor. The BSE was solved not only after DFT + U, but also on top of hybrid functional (BSE@hybrid) to see the effect of the starting point in our optical results.

In your opinion, what are the key design considerations for your study.

The first thing was to select the material to probe. After the literature survey, we learned what was missing and determined our computational demand. We needed to apply several approximations in our study requiring various levels of computational resources, so the HPC cluster was used from the very start.

Which part of the work towards this paper proved to be most challenging?

1: Computational cost: When performing hybrid functional calculations, we faced memory issues. Similarly, BSE can quickly lead to such issues if we increase the convergence parameters in the BSE kernel.

2: Moreover, in selecting the Hubbard potentials (U term in DFT + U), we tried to find these parameters from the first-principle methods. However, the current theory in the QE code was not sufficient for the full-shell d-electron systems (like Cu). Therefore, we had to go back to the empirical approach in DFT + U, where we arbitrarily picked “U” values for our system.  

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

In theory, we have seen such power to turn on/off interactions by applying approximations, when BSE (excitonic interactions turned on) performs much better than IPA (Independent Particle – without excitons). So, to get close to experimental absorption, excitonic physics is important in semiconductors (apart from low-dimensional systems).  

What is the next step? What work is planned?

We plan to form the heterostructure model of Cu3P with other suitable semiconductor photocatalysts to fine-tune the properties of the overall system or introducing the impurity to obtain something similar.

Theoretical investigation of the optoelectronic response of highly correlated Cu3P photocatalyst

Haseeb Ahmad, Ali Rauf and Shoaib Muhammad

RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 20721-20726

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

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Advancing with Advances- How to Publish and not Perish (Part 6): Publishing Tips from Academic Editors

How are papers assessed by academic editors at RSC Advances

Insights from editors handling catalysis, nanoscience and sustainable synthesis papers

We are delighted to continue sharing with you publishing tips and tricks from our editors who have listed their:

a) Most common reason for desk-rejecting a paper

b) Top tip to authors

Meet the Editor:

Dr. Ranjit Koodali is the Associate Provost for Research & Graduate Education at Western Kentucky University. He handles papers in the areas of photocatalysis, solar energy and nanoscience.

Dr Ranjith Koodali, Western Kentucky University, USA

1. What is the most common reason for rejecting a manuscript without review?

RSC Advances disseminates new findings broadly in the area of Chemistry to the scientific community. With this broad scope and goal in mind to share exciting and new findings in Chemical Sciences, authors are encouraged to look at the scope and specifically the comprehensive list of subject categories to come to an informed decision if their work falls within this list. Also, it may be advisable to look at past issues and check if work that is planned to be submitted is covered in the scope. If the completed project falls within the scope of RSC Advances, then it may be best to provide a compelling narrative in the manuscript as to one or more of the following:
1. What gaps or ambiguities exist in the literature?
2. What new knowledge or scientific advance is being shared with the public?
3. How does the scientific community benefit from the work being published?
4. Are there some potential applied research benefits from the fundamental or basic research question being addressed?
5. Is prior literature cited and discussed in context of the current work?
6. Does the data support the hypothesis and conclusions?
The lack of specificities related to the questions above lead Associate Editors to question the quality, novelty, and scope of the submitted manuscript.

2. What is the best piece of advice you could give a submitting author?

A cover letter providing a compelling reason regarding the need to publish the submitted work and a manuscript that does not have typographical errors help Associate Editors come to an informed decision if a manuscript can be sent for reviews.

Meet the Editor:

Professor Luigi Vaccaro is based at the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Perugia and handles papers related to nanoanalysis, catalysis, stereochemistry and sustainable synthesis.

Professor Luigi Vaccaro, University of Perugia , Italy

1. What is the most common reason for rejecting a manuscript without review?

A manuscript must certainly contain sufficient elements of novelty that should be clearly and easily recognizable during the first quick read of the abstract.

Besides novelty, the lack of a solid experimental section and supporting material is also very important while a routine application of known protocols makes the contribution to be of limited interest.

2. What is the best piece of advice you could give a submitting author?

Clearly define the advance in terms of novelty or clearly identify the new information reported in the contribution. A scheme, a graphical description is often very helpful for the reader.

Authors, by preparing this simple scheme, will also have a decisive chance to evaluate their own work before the submission.

A contribution with a solid experimental section where all materials prepared are completely and efficiently characterized also bring an useful piece of information implementing the original idea and highlighting the need for an additional contribution.

These elements should be also presented in the cover letter in a simple and schematic style that will facilitate the reader who is generally trying to save time and get the most useful information in the most straightforward manner.

Meet the Editor:

Professor Thierry Ollevier, FRSC is a Full Professor in Chemistry at Université Laval, Québec (Canada) and handles papers in the areas of organocatalysis, bioorganic catalysis, and stereochemistry.

Professor Thierry Ollevier, Université Laval, Québec, Canada

1. What is the most common reason for rejecting a manuscript without review?

One of the most common reasons for rejecting a manuscript without review is an evident lack of advancement of science with respect to the state-of-the-art. This weakness is especially clear when the background literature and the context of the research are not presented in an appropriate manner.

2. What is the best piece of advice you could give a submitting author?

A submitting author should present a concise summary of the state-of-the-art and state well-defined, targeted, objectives. The manuscript should be structured to focus exclusively on the substantial advancement or new insight being reported. All arguments to highlight the advance should be placed in the context of the existing literature. The potential reader should readily get a clear understanding of the new elements brought by the manuscript.

We hope that you find these insights from Ranjith, Luigi, and Thierry useful while writing your next paper!

Tune in next week for yet more insights from our academic Associate Editors !

You are welcome to send in any questions you have about peer-review or publishing to advances-rsc@rsc.org or post them on Twitter @RSCAdvances #AdvancingWithAdvances.

Don’t miss out on our previous tips on how to publish and not perish below:

Advancing with Advances (Part 1): featuring Professor Robert Baker (Trinity College Dublin)

Advancing with Advances (Part 2): featuring editorial insights from staff editors at RSC Advances

Advancing with Advances (Part 3): featuring  Professor Brenno A.D. Neto (Universidade de Brasília, Brazil) Dr. Donna Arnold (University of Kent, UK), and Professor Nestor Mariano Correa (Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Argentina)

Advancing with Advances (Part 4): featuring Professor Megan O’Mara (Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology), Dr Giacomo Saielli (University of Padova, Italy), and Dr Pablo Denis (Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay)

Advancing with Advances (Part 5): featuring Professor Franck Dumeignil (University of Lille, France) Professor Xi Chen (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China), and Professor Manojit Pal (Dr Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences, India)

 

 

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RSC Advances Emerging Investigators series 2021 – Author spotlight

Welcome to our Emerging Investigator Series 2021. This series showcases some of the very best work from chemists in the early stages of their independent careers. In keeping with the theme of RSC Advances as a cross-cutting chemistry journal, in this inaugural issue with the help of our Series Editor Professor James Batteas, 23 papers were published as part of the collection spanning the breadth of chemistry on topics ranging from the development and application of analytical tools and devices for chemical analysis, to the design and synthesis of bioactive materials for disease treatments, to catalysis and synthesis of new materials. You can read all about the contributions in this accompanying Editorial, prepared by the 2021 Series Editor James Batteas.

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight an author from the series, Dr. Christine Beemelmanns. We interviewed Christine to find out more about her area of research and her contribution to the series.

GNPS-guided discovery of xylacremolide C and D, evaluation of their putative biosynthetic origin and bioactivity studies of xylacremolide A and B
Felix Schalk, Janis Fricke, Soohyun Um, Benjamin H. Conlon, Hannah Maus, Nils Jäger, Thorsten Heinzel, Tanja Schirmeister, Michael Poulsen and Christine Beemelmanns
RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 18748-18756

Dr. Beemelmanns studied Chemistry at the RWTH Aachen. She then 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 month 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. End of 2013, she received an offer from the Hans-Knöll Institute (HKI), where she established the Leibniz Junior Research Group in the field of Natural Products Chemistry and Chemical Biology. In 2021 she accepted a call from the Leipzig University for a Professorship Biochemistry of Microbial Physiology. Her research combines different aspects of chemical ecology and organic and natural product chemistry and aims to chemically and functionally characterize microbial signaling and defense molecules in different symbiotic model systems. By analyzing coevolved microbial interactions, unprecedented chemical core structures with potential pharmaceutical application are likely to appear.

Could you briefly explain the focus of your article to the non-specialist (in one or two sentences only) and why it is of current interest?

We are currently facing depleted antibiotic drug pipelines on a global scale. Our research article describes our quest to identify novel antimicrobials from termite symbionts and how they might be made.

How big an impact could your results potentially have?

Our chemical study motivated us to sequence the genome of the producing fungal species and related species. Our first genome mining result allowed us to interlink newly identified natural products with their putative biosynthetic origin and results point towards a promiscuous biosynthetic machinery present within certain fungal lineages.

Could you explain the motivation behind this study?

We were intrigued by the finding that microbes produce most often a bunch of structurally-related products of a promiscuous biosynthetic machinery. Here, we showcase the structural diversity of the natural product family xylacremolide and relate the structural diversity to their biosynthetic origin.

In your opinion, what are the key design considerations for your study?

It is important to carefully mine metabolomic datasets, and if necessary revisit these datasets if novel and more powerful methodologies become available.

Which part of the work towards this paper proved to be most challenging?

It is very challenging to elucidate the ecological function of isolated produced natural products. Here, we propose that the identified natural products might act as histone deacetylase inhibitors and show their antifungal activities. This suggests that this compound class might act as modulators of transcription and thus developmental processes maybe even within the producer organism.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Fungal symbionts have undergone multiple adaptions strategies to survive within a highly evolved social insect system. I am very excited about elucidating the genomic and also the metabolic adaptation strategies.

How has your research evolved from your first article to this particular article?

Starting from classical natural product chemistry, we have spearheaded the fungus-fungus interaction-based discovery approaches, which are more and more complemented by comparative genome mining approaches.

What is the next step? What work is planned?

We are currently analyzing the abundance and diversity of the identified biosynthetic pathways to understand their origin but also the reason for their promiscuity. We are currently mining the obtained whole genome data to pin-point biosynthetic pathways to the identified structures.

Why did you want to publish in RSC Advances?

RSC Advances is a well-known peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Chemical Society and allows rapid open-access publication for a fair price.

What are your thoughts on open access publishing?

My research group and collaborators benefit from open access publishing and I support publishing open access.

RSC Advances Royal Society of Chemistry

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest  Popular Advances articles, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

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July 2022 Popular Advances Articles

Welcome to July’s Popular Advances article round up!

Every month we update our 2022 RSC Advances Popular Advances Article Collection to showcase all of the articles selected by our reviewers and handling editors as Popular Advances in 2022. Don’t forget to come back next month to check out our latest Popular articles.

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Explore the full collection!

Theoretical investigation of the optoelectronic response of highly correlated Cu3P photocatalyst,
Haseeb Ahmad, Ali Rauf and Shoaib Muhammad, RSC Adv., 2022,12, 20721-20726, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA02472A

Phenoxy pendant isatins as potent α-glucosidase inhibitors: reciprocal carbonyl⋯carbonyl interactions, antiparallel π⋯π stacking driven solid state self-assembly and biological evaluation,
Saba Mehreen, Mehwash Zia, Ajmal Khan, Javid Hussain, Saeed Ullah, Muhammad U. Anwar, Ahmed Al-Harrasi and Muhammad Moazzam Naseer, RSC Adv., 2022,12, 20919-20928, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA03307K

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest  Popular Advances articles, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

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