Cosgrove group during Christmas meal in Manchester, December 2024.
Dr Sebastian Cosgrove
Originally from Bradford in West Yorkshire, Seb moved to the University of Manchester for his undergraduate degree. He spent a year working for Syngenta at Jealott’s Hill before a final year project with Prof David Procter working on samarium diiodide reductions. He then moved to the University of Leeds to undertake a PhD with Prof Steve Marsden, working on metal-free photochemical C-N bond formation. This was followed by 3 and a half years in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. He moved with an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship to work with Prof Nick Turner FRS, looking at the combination of biocatalysts with precious-metal catalysis. After spending another year or so working with Nick and Prof Sabine Flitsch, Seb joined Prof Nigel Scrutton FRS in the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub to work on continuous flow biocatalysis. He came to Keele as a lecturer in organic chemistry and chemical biology in November 2020, and became a senior lecturer in May 2024.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr Tiantian Fang
Leverhulme Postdoctoral Research Associate – with Dr Peter Matthews (Keele University)
Tiantian is from Shanxi, China. She graduated from Tianjin University in 2019 with a double major of BEng. in Chemical Engineering and BSc. in Construction Project Management. After that she remained in Tianjin University and obtained her Ph. D. degree in 2024. Her research focused on the synthesising and optimizing of two-dimensional nanomaterials, especially for two-dimensional silicon materials (silicene & siloxene). She mainly explored the application of these two-dimensional materials on energy storage (supercapacitors & lithium-ion batteries). She joined the Cosgrove group as a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Research Associate in Inorganic Chemistry in 2025, and her research will focus on the use of flow technologies to create inorganic 2D materials in a bottom-up manner.
Dr David Evans
Postdoctoral Research Associate – BBSRC EnzAct prosperity partnership
David is from Stafford. He graduated from The University of Liverpool with a BSc in Chemistry in 2019. He continued at the University of Liverpool gaining a master’s in advanced chemical sciences with the final project researching post-modification of rhamnolipids with Unilever. After this he relocated to Manchester completing his PhD within the Flitsch lab in collaboration with Croda. The focus of research at The University of Manchester was developing cascades to biosynthetically make sugar nucleotides in situ, to subsequently glycosylate rhamnolipopeptides, developing the cascade further through reaction optimisation and mutagenesis. He joined the Cosgrove group as a PDRA as part of the BBSRC EnzAct prosperity partnership, investigating biocatalytic routes towards novel bio-based surfactants.
PhD Students
Tom Roberts
4th Year PhD Student – With Dr Marcelo Lima (Keele University)
Tom is from Carmarthenshire, West Wales. He graduated from Keele University in 2013 completing his final year project in the stereoselective synthesis of tetrahyrdrofurans. Tom then spent time outside of academia before studying for a masters in medicinal chemistry with the open university, graduating with a Merit in 2020. Tom’s project focused on the potential of triple reuptake inhibitors as potential antidepressants. Tom joined the group in September 2022 where his research will focus on Engineering carbohydrate-active enzymes to enable continuous-flow biocatalysis.
Christopher Field
4th Year PhD Student – With Prof Sam Hay (University of Manchester) and EnginZyme
Chris is from Norwich, Norfolk. He graduated with a first-class BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds in July 2021. He remained at Leeds whilst completing an MRes in Physics, which involved using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study the effects of post-translational modification on microtubule structure and dynamics. He started a joint PhD between the University of Manchester and Keele University in October 2022, in collaboration with EnginZyme, where he will be investigating novel, low-cost enzyme immobilisation systems for use in large-scale, continuous flow biomanufacturing
Apisit Naramittanakul
3rd Year PhD Student – With Prof Nick Wright (Keele University) and Rasayan Inc.
Apisit is from Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. He completed his BSc in Biotechnology from Mahidol University. In 2022, Apisit completed his MEng in Biomolecular Science and Engineering from Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Thailand. His final year project involved development of continuous flow system with immobilized enzyme for phenol derivatives biodegradation. Apisit joined the Cosgrove group in September 2023 as a PhD student where his research will focus on an integrated flow and computational platform to unlock the potential of biocatalysis.
Jana Fröhlich
2nd Year PhD Student – With Prof Gavin Miller (University of Manchester) and Unilever
Jana is from Cologne, Germany. She graduated from the University of the Arts London in June 2023 with an integrated MSc in Cosmetic Science with Distinction. Her master’s project focused on driving sustainability in the cosmetics industry by reducing energy consumption during the manufacture of water-in-oil emulsions. Jana also obtained a Diploma in Professional Studies after completing a year in industry at GlaxoSmithKline in 2021, working on developing a natural denture adhesive. She continued her journey in sustainability by joining the Cosgrove group in September 2024 as a PhD student, where her research will focus on the decarbonisation of surfactant and functional polymer value chains by enzymatic processes in collaboration with Unilever.
Aimee-Page Jenkins
1st Year PhD student – with Prof Gavin Miller and Dr Jack Rowbotham (University of Manchester) and Unilever
Aimee is from Redhill, Surrey. She graduated with a first class BSc medicinal chemistry degree from Keele University in 2024. Her final year project within the Cosgrove group involved the development of active fragments for drug discovery utilising nitroreductase biocatalysis. During her degree she completed a summer research project with Dr Rebecca Ruscoe, focusing on enzyme-enabled Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis. She then re-joined the Cosgrove group for an MRes in 2024, with her project focussing on the development of novel chemoenzymatic cascades. She started her PhD in September 2025 based at the University of Manchester working as part of the BBSRC EnzAct prosperity partnership.
Masters students
Group Alumni
Andrea Maganza Zurdo – MRes, 2023-25, nucleoside modification biocatalysis
Alistair Hackney – MRes, 2024-25, Alcohol oxidases
Joey Cheang – MChem, 2024-25, Nucleoside kinases
Dr Alberto Esteban Aranda – PDRA 2024-25, Polysaccharide bioprocess development
Matthew Winterbottom – MChem 2023-24, Immobilisation of glycosyltransferases
Dr Simon Anderson – PDRA 2022-24, Alcohol oxidase engineering; PDRA with Dr Hazel Girvan, University of Huddersfield
Dr Alice Wahart – PhD 2020-24, Alcohol oxidase bioprocess optimisation; Eurofins
Joseph Wilson – MRes 2022-23, Nucleoside biocatalysis
Hannah Murally – MChem 2022-23, Nitroreductase optimisation
Matthew Wong – Visiting PhD student, University Sains Malaysia, 2023, Enzymatic functionalisation of carbohydrates
Amelia Swarbrook – Summer placement 2022, Biocatalytic coumarin synthesis; PhD Student at Oxford Inorganic CDT
Andrea Maganza Zurdo – Summer placement 2022, Enzyme expression optimisation
Arjeta Selmani – Erasmus+ visiting scholar, University of Prishtina, Kosovo, 2022-23, New biocatalytic approaches to coumarins
Jasmine Watts – MChem 2021-22, Amine resolution with lipases
Lauren Holder – MChem 2021-22, Nitroreductase optimisation; PhD student with Prof Gavin Miller, Keele University