We are happy to share that Annabel Murphy has been appointed as Associate Director of Chemistry at Isomerase.
Annabel has worked in natural products research for 20 years, starting as a synthetic chemist before finding her real passion in understanding and manipulating their biosynthesis; a field that is revealing the enormous potential toolkit Nature offers us as biocatalysts.
Annabel was drawn to the field by the potential that biocatalysis and engineered microbial fermentation have to revolutionise chemical manufacture; offering more sustainable processes based on renewable carbon feedstocks. She carried out post-doctoral research in the labs of several pioneers, including Tom Simpson and Peter Leadlay, picking up new skills in biology while expanding her analytical and preparative chemistry skills.
“In recent years, biocatalysis and fermentation has increasingly established itself as a viable alternative to classical synthetic chemistry processes and Isomerase is a leader in this area, so when jumping from academia to industry, Isomerase were the perfect fit for me”.
During her 7 years at Isomerase, Annabel has worked on a wide variety of client projects with a common theme of harnessing microorganisms to access new chemical targets or processes and she is excited to continue enhancing our capabilities and driving success for our clients.