Professor Jason Micklefield FRSC

Winner: 2022 Interdisciplinary Prize

The University of Manchester

For innovative research spanning organic chemistry to molecular genetics, leading to the discovery, characterisation, and engineering of many novel enzymes.

Celebrate Professor Jason Micklefield

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Research can be tough and there will be many failures. Self-belief, perseverance and hard work is essential.

Nature uses enzymes to catalyse reactions building all of the molecules required for life. Enzymes also break down molecules to release energy that enables all living organisms to move forward. Professor Micklefield’s lab discovers novel enzymes from unusual bacteria in nature. They characterise these enzymes to determine their structures and mechanisms. With this knowledge, they are able to re-programme the enzymes to create variants that can catalyse new reactions.

These engineered enzymes are used to produce novel antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance, antiviral agents that entered clinical trials for COVID-19, anticancer agents and other useful molecules. The enzymatic pathways they develop are cleaner and more sustainable than the traditional chemical synthesis routes that are currently used to prepare pharmaceuticals and other molecules.

Read winner biography

Professor Jason Micklefield graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1993 with a PhD in organic chemistry, working with Professor Sir Alan R Battersby to achieve the first total synthesis of haem d1. Following this, he was awarded a NATO postdoctoral fellowship (1993–1995) to investigate various biosynthetic pathways and enzyme mechanisms within the laboratory of Professor Heinz G Floss at the University of Washington, USA.

In 1995, Jason was appointed Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at Birkbeck College, University of London, before moving to Manchester in 1998. He was promoted to Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Manchester in 2008 where his research group is based in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB). Jason is also Visiting Professor at the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) in Shanghai. He is Co-Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Catalysis (iCAT) and served as Director of the BBSRC Natural Product Discovery and Bioengineering Network (NPRONET). Jason was the recipient of the RSC Bader Award (2019) and Natural Product Reports (NPR) Lecture Award (2008).

Jason’s research involves the discovery, characterisation and engineering of biosynthetic pathways to new bioactive natural products, particularly antibiotics. He is also interested in the discovery, structure, mechanism and engineering of enzymes for synthetic applications, including the integration of enzymes with chemocatalysis for telescoping routes to pharmaceuticals and other valuable products. The Micklefield lab is also engaged in nucleic acids research.

Q+A

Who or what has inspired you?

In the early days my PhD supervisor, Professor Alan Battersby, was a great inspiration. Now I am most inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the excellent co-workers in my research group.

What motivates you?

Going to work each day to meet members of our group, thinking that today we will make a breakthrough or come up with new ideas that could lead to important discoveries.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

Research can be tough and there will be many failures. Self-belief, perseverance and hard work is essential. It is also important to be flexible, explore many directions and be ready to exploit the unexpected: rarely do things go as planned.

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?

Working with a research group of over 100 individual PhD or postdoctoral researchers, from diverse backgrounds (23 nationalities) over the last twenty years. It has been a great pleasure seeing them develop into confident and highly skilled scientists with many in leading positions in industry and academia all over the world. They have been a tremendous help to me, and I hope I also helped them in their careers.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

Teamwork is incredibly important, particularly for the interdisciplinary research we do. I am very fortunate to lead a wonderful team with co-workers from chemistry, biochemistry and biology backgrounds, sharing knowledge and helping one another to achieve a common goal.