People

Dr Anna Peacock 

Anna Peacock grew up in The Netherlands, but graduated from the University of York (UK) with a MChem in 2003. Here she was first exposed to Bioinorganic Chemistry research when she performed her dissertation project with Professor Robin Perutz and Dr Anne-Kathrin Duhme-Klair. She then went on to complete a PhD under the supervision of Professor Peter Sadler FRS at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) in 2007. After this Anna moved to a post-doctoral position at the University of Michigan (USA) with Professor Vincent Pecoraro. In 2009 she joined the School of Chemistry here at the University of Birmingham, and was promoted to Reader in Bioinorganic Chemistry in 2019.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6809-9295

Link to UoB staff page.

Dr Richard Mudd

Richard grew up in Lancaster and studied Chemistry (MChem) at Heriot-Watt university (Edinburgh, UK), with a Master’s project on Au(I) catalysis in the group of Dr Ai‑Lan Lee. After graduating he joined the group of Professor William Kerr at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK) to study Ir(I-III) catalysis, collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline (Stevenage, UK) and Sanofi (Frankfurt, Germany). His next step was to take up a postdoctoral position in the group of Professor Ryan Gilmour Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster, Germany). Subsequently, joining the group of Professor Michael Mastalerz at Ruprecht-Karls Universität (Heidelberg, Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2021 he joined the Peacock group as a postdoctoral fellow to design and prepare artificial metalloenzymes in collaboration with the Davies group. Away from the laboratory he enjoys swimming, cycling, running, hiking, reading, and gaming.

Dr Ivy Ghosh

Ivy was born in West Bengal, India. She was a University topper during her B Sc and a first class second in M Sc from The University of Burdwan, India. She did her Master’s project focused on the field of inorganic open-framework materials that are dominated by aluminosilicates and phosphates. Then she joined Prof. Tapan Kanti Paine’s group in the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, India in 2014 to obtain her PhD degree in the field of Biomimicking Enzymes, mainly Cytochrome P450 and Bioinspired Catalysis involving chemo-, regio- and stereo-selective oxygenation of C-H and C=C bonds in hydrocarbons by non-heme mononuclear metal (Fe and Co) complexes. In August 2021, she joined the artificial metalloenzymes team working with the Peacock group and Davies group on novel hybrid catalysts for sustainable organic synthesis. She has a keen interest in travelling to historical places and collecting souvenirs.

ORCiD: 0000-0003-4236-2619

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivy-ghosh-phd-0b867a7b/

 

Giulia Molinaro – 3rd Year PhD Student

Giulia graduated from the Università degli studi di Torino (Turin, Italy) with a Master’s degree in Advanced Chemical Methods (Chemistry). Her masters project was on the design and synthesis of vegetal hormones perception inhibitors. Giulia is currently undertaking a joint PhD project with the Britton Group on artificial metalloproteins for use as MRI contrast agents.

Thomas Squire (2nd Year PhD Student (MIBTP Programme))

Tom completed his MSci degree at the University of Birmingham, which lead on to him joining the MIBTP program across the universities; University of Birmingham, Warwick and Leicester.   As part of the MIBTP training year he developed transferable skills in computer programming/modelling and large scale data analysis of RNA sequence data. He also had the opportunity to work with Prof Martin Wills (University of Warwick) synthesising RNA derivatives for analytical science and with ChemBAM developing its website and content. Currently he is working across the Davies and Peacock groups designing artificial enzymes. Outside the lab Tom enjoys supporting his local football team and mixing his own music, with the tag line “mixing chemicals by day and music by night”.

Joseph Phillips (2nd Year PhD Student)

Joseph completed both his BSc in Chemistry (2018) and MSc in Green and Sustainable Chemistry (2019) with The Academic Excellence Award from the University of Nottingham. His masters research project investigated the use of commercially available saccharides as alternative dopants and plasticizers to those derived from crude oil in PEDOT composites, producing novel semiconductive materials. This research continues in the Amabilino group. Joseph is now a PhD researcher investigating a new generation of designed coiled coils, and their use as potential catalysts in the Peacock group at the University of Birmingham (2020).