Professor, School of Chemistry

Biography

Rebecca Goss is an internationally leading researcher in the area of elucidating and harnessing biosynthesis of natural products, at the chemical and genetic level, and in blending together synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry to make new to nature natural products.

She has presented over 150 invited, plenary and keynote lectures in the area of blending the synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry of natural products including:  Canadian Chemical Society 2019, Synthetic Biology of Natural Products 2019, Mona Natural Products, Jamaica 2018, GRC Natural Products 2018, American Society of Phramacognosy 2018, ISBA Korea 2017, RSC Synthesis 2015.

Selected publications

A Marine Viral Halogenase, that Iodinates Diverse Substrates, Danai S. Gkotsi, Hannes Ludewig, Sunil V. Sharma, Jack A. Connolly, Yunpeng Wang, William P. Unsworth, Richard J. K. Taylor, Matthew M. W. McLachlan, Stephen Shanahan, James H. Naismith & Rebecca J. M. Goss* Nature Chemistry, 2019, 11, 1091-7 https://rdcu.be/bUkjA. Highlighted in :  https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Newly-discovered-enzyme-adds-iodine/97/i41

A natural solution to the photoprotection and isolation of the potent polyene antibiotic marinomycin, Christopher S. Bailey, Joseph S. Zarins-Tutt  Alberto Diego Taboada, Maoluo Gan, Emily R. Abraham, Grahame Mackenzie,* Andrew Evans* and Rebecca J. M. Goss,* Chem Sci, 2019, 10, 7549-7553 Chem Sci 2019 Hot Article Collection, Chem Sci Pick of the week, Highlighted in C&EN News, https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/Pollen-shells-protect-drugs-UV/97/i22 For interview with Alan @kasujja #BBCNewsday @BBCworldservice   click   chirb.it/J5GKna For Times Review : https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/antibiotic-found-in-ocean-could-help-beat-superbugs-cx238tmr7

Living GenoChemetics: Hyphenating Synthetic Biology and Synthetic Chemistry in vivo, Goss & co-workers Nature Communications, 2017, 8, 229.

Sonogashira diversification of unprotected halotryptophans, halotryptophan containing tripeptides and a new to nature bromometabolite in water, Goss & co-workers,   Sci., 2017,  8, 2039-2046.

An unusual flavin‑dependent 5‑hydroxytryptophan halogenase from the metagenome of the marine sponge Theonella swinhoei, Duncan R. M. Smith, Agustinus R. Uria, Daniela Milbredt, Karl-Heinz van Pée, Jörn Piel*, Rebecca J. M. Goss* ACS Chemical Biology 2017, 12, 1281-1287