Winner: 2024 Analytical Science early career Prize: Joseph Black Prize
Dr Maxie Roessler
Imperial College London
For the development of advanced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to investigate, structurally define and exploit catalysis by chemical and biological systems.
Magnetic resonance is widely used in science and medicine to study molecules and materials. Common uses include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in hospitals and bench-top instruments used in industry, as well as advanced spectroscopy to push the boundaries of scientific understanding. The most common magnetic resonance technique, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), addresses the nuclei of atoms. Dr Roessler’s research group focuses on an analogous technique called electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). This technique allows the group to study materials and molecules which have naturally occurring tiny particles called unpaired electrons. They are developing new methods to study how these electrons behave, particularly in enzymes that drive important reactions like photosynthesis and respiration. This research could lead to advancements in sustainability and healthier ageing.
Biography
Dr Maxie Roessler mostly grew up in Germany. A year in Italy, attending a French high school in Berlin and coming to the UK for her A-levels have contributed to her identifying as European. She studied chemistry at the University of Oxford and discovered bioinorganic chemistry during her 4th-year research project in Professor Armstrong’s group. Maxie spent one-and-a-half years in China with a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service, studying Mandarin and working for Bayer. She returned to Oxford for her PhD, where she learned about electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy as part of the newly emerging EPR centre. The thrill of combining tools that reveal enzyme activity (from protein-film electrochemistry) and detailed insight into electronic structure (from EPR) has remained with her ever since.
During her PhD, Maxie also became fascinated by iron-sulphur clusters. Soon after finishing her PhD, Maxie had the opportunity to start a lectureship at Queen Mary University of London. She was lucky to already have some EPR instruments, and in collaboration with Judy Hirst in Cambridge, she was able to dive deeper into a metalloenzyme that she is still captivated by today: respiratory complex I. Five years ago, Maxie moved to Imperial College London, where she established the Centre for Pulse EPR (PEPR). She is involved in many projects in diverse disciplines. Her research group focuses on electron transfer chemistry, but this is always branching out into new directions.
Q&A
How did you first become interested in chemistry?
I only discovered that chemistry existed when I was 14, on a six-month exchange in the UK (my first time in the UK). In my French school in Germany, I had only encountered physics and biology, and I credit my UK high school teacher, Mr Andrew England, for instilling his enthusiasm for chemistry in me. This remains a huge motivation for me to be a good teacher and to try to inspire the next generation of chemists.
Tell us about somebody who has inspired or mentored you in your career.
My PhD supervisor, Fraser Armstrong, was a wonderful mentor. Besides training me as a scientist, he always conveyed that he believed in me. Without him, I am not sure that I would have had the confidence to pursue an academic career – and even to move to Imperial College five years ago without the guarantee that I would manage to get pulse EPR set up there. I am also very grateful to Professor Jeffrey Harmer (now at the University of Queensland, Australia) for his mentorship during my PhD, as in the Armstrong group, I was the only one working with EPR spectroscopy.
What motivates you?
Having the opportunity to work with such bright and enthusiastic people every day! It really is a privilege in this job not only to come up with my own ideas but also to discuss the ideas that my research group members come up with – and to see where they lead to. As director of PEPR I get to work on very diverse problems with the only common denominator that they all involve unpaired electrons. EPR spectroscopy is a huge field, and it is a big motivation for me to try and understand as much about different aspects of it as possible through all these diverse projects. Of course, there are certain areas I am particularly fascinated by – everything that involves redox chemistry and electron transfer processes.
A huge motivation is also to try to help my team members succeed – and when they do, it is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
I cannot speak for all chemistry careers, but for academia, I would say try to seize the opportunities as they come. For example, taking up a lectureship at QMUL after just one year of postdoc was certainly a daunting task, and I hesitated for a while but then decided to seize that opportunity (not least because my husband had just taken up an academic position in London). This turned out to be a great decision for my independent career.
What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?
I organised quite a major international conference with about 150 delegates (the Annual International Meeting of the EPR spectroscopy group of the RSC) when my daughter was one month old. Although this will certainly be unforgettable, I am not sure I would do it again! It would also simply not have been possible without my amazing research group, my co-organiser Enrico Salvadori (now Associate Professor at the University of Turin) and my husband, who was a full-time babysitter at the conference (because I was breast-feeding) during the whole week!
What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?
Moving to Imperial College in 2019 (when my second child was one year old) meant setting up my entire lab again. It also meant securing a lot of money for and building up an EPR facility from scratch. I have to say I underestimated this, and I think I lost quite some time in research, but I am still glad I did it!
Why do you think collaboration and teamwork are important in science?
My work is extremely collaborative, and so is the working environment here at Imperial and at PEPR. As an example, my second PhD student, Martina Cirulli (at QMUL), worked on high-spin cobalt complexes in collaboration with Professor Stephen Goldup. This was a detour from my research on metalloenzymes, and I wondered what I would ever use this knowledge for again. It turns out that recently what we did back then was useful for a new collaboration with Dr Rebecca Musgrave at King’s College London.
What does good research culture look like/mean to you?
That the people in my team are happy with their work, but also on a personal level, that everyone feels included and able to speak and voice ideas openly!
What is your favourite element?
Not an element but something that makes up all elements - electrons!
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