Isonitriles are valuable organic molecules endowed with unique reactivity features, which find wide applications in a variety of chemical fields, from material sciences to chemical biology, organic, and medicinal chemistry. Current methods to prepare isonitriles suffer from major drawbacks in terms of safety and sustainability, as they rely on the use of large amounts of highly toxic chemicals (e.g., COCl2, POCl3, TMSCN), which make their synthesis hazardous and wasteful, especially for industrial-scale production. Based on the established ability of biocatalytic strategies to enable milder, greener, and more selective chemical processes, the aim of this project is to investigate, characterise, and engineer the protein ScoE from Streptomyces coeruleorubidus and related isonitrile-forming enzymes from the Fe(II)/αKG-dioxygenase superfamily with the final goal to turn them into a new class of biocatalysts for the sustainable production of isonitrile compounds. The project will first characterise wild-type ScoE in order to optimise the biotransformation parameters and to evaluate the in vitro catalytic performances of the enzyme and its natural substrate scope (specificity and selectivity). In parallel, representative isonitrile-forming Fe(II)/αKG-dioxygenases with potential for different activity and selectivity will be selected from assorted environmental niches and assessed for their substrate flexibility and their ability to biocatalyse the synthesis of isonitrile derivatives in vitro. Such investigations will provide experimental data to drive the identification of best candidates for biocatalyst development. Mutagenesis studies driven by in-silico design will be performed to generate improved Fe(II)/αKG-dioxygenase variants (with broader substrate scope) to be exploited as biocatalysts. The hit enzymes will be produced on larger scale and biocatalytic methods for the preparative synthesis of isonitriles will be developed.

Increasing evidence has linked agrochemical exposure to significant declines in pollinator populations, prompting heightened concerns and legislative actions. However, recent studies demonstrate that even legally-applied pesticides continue to adversely affect social bees. A critical challenge in addressing this issue is the co-exposure of pollinators to multiple agrochemicals. In agricultural environments, pollinators are typically exposed to complex mixtures of agrochemicals, rather than the single products upon which risk assessment has been based. This is a problem because recent work has highlighted that agrochemicals often interact synergistically, such that their combined effects are significantly greater than anticipated, and that such synergistic interactions are both larger and more common than expected. Finding a means to identify synergy during the licensing process is difficult because synergistic interactions are hard to predict based on biochemical properties, and because the number of potential mixtures that may be encountered in the real world is too large to allow for untargeted testing of mixtures. I propose a means to overcome this barrier, through transcriptomic profiling of exposure to single products to detect key indicators of synergy for social bees. Gene expression can detect key overriding impacts of individual agrochemicals on bee physiology, and comparison of profiles could potentially predict synergistic partners. Building upon my background in insect transcriptomics and the expertise in agrochemical stress within my proposed research group, I will combine large-scale transcriptomic resources with a comprehensive pre-existing database of synergistic agrochemical pairs to explore the key general shared features of synergistic pairs, such as shared metabolic targets. In doing so, I will identify potential biomarker genes to provide a more sensitive, short-term experimental method for bioassays in pesticide environmental risk assessment.

Intergenerational mobility, measuring the ability to achieve economic success regardless of family background, is a critical reflection of a society’s commitment to equality of opportunity. Rising income inequality has raised concerns about the potential erosion of upward mobility. While education has traditionally been viewed as the path to mobility, its transformative power is facing challenges in a rapidly evolving job market. This project reorients the focus of intergenerational mobility research by highlighting the labor market as an arena for the reproduction of advantage. It employs a comparative approach, using administrative data from four countries: Sweden, Austria, England, and the United States. It also incorporates evidence from a broader set of nations through cross-national surveys, longitudinal household surveys, labor force surveys, secondary data, and digital trace data. The project employs cutting-edge empirical methods, including quasi-experimental designs, event studies, within-family comparisons, decomposition analyses, counterfactual simulations, and diagnostic checks to rigorously assess the extent of inequalities in the labor market. The research investigates how family background influences the sorting of individuals to employers and workplaces, accounting for education and occupation, and explores variations in career progression within and between employers. It comprehensively catalogues and assesses mechanisms shaping workplace inequality, contributing to the development of social closure theory. Additionally, the project evaluates intervention strategies, encompassing both employer practices and government actions, to promote fair opportunity in the labor market.

Satellites in space are subjected to charged particles in the ambient environment. Specifically, the fast-moving electrons of the space plasma can rapidly accumulate on satellite surfaces. These surfaces may then suddenly discharge in electrical arcs that damage the onboard electronics, which may even result in total loss of the spacecraft. The project KISMET-SPARK will be the first dedicated study of surface charging during rare but impactful events known as "Geosynchronous Magnetopause Crossings" (GMCs). During a GMC, the solar wind compresses the Earth's magnetic field. This ends up placing satellites in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) within a region known as the magnetosheath, where the ambient electron fluxes and resulting surface charging can be intense. In KISMET-SPARK, the Applicant Konstantinos Horaites will address the kinetic physics of electrons in Earth's magnetosheath and their space weather impacts. In two Work Packages, he will 1) describe the processes that shape the energized "flat-top" electron velocity distribution (eVDF), and 2) evaluate how these electrons contribute to the costly GEO satellite failures that are correlated with GMCs. The project will be supervised by Daniel Verscharen, who is an Associate Professor at the Host institution, the University of College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The Applicant will simulate the magnetosheath environment using state-of-the-art kinetic "eVlasiator" simulations of Earth's magnetosheath. He will employ the Supervisor's "ALPS" code to assess the kinetic stability of the eVDF, which will explain the origin of the flat-top population. This project will combine the Applicant's experience with simulations together with the Supervisor's knowledge of space-plasma instabilities, to answer long-standing questions about the magnetosheath eVDF's origins and impacts. The project results will be communicated to the scientific community, industry stakeholders, and the general public.

Developing on-chip planar micro-batteries with high-capacity, environmentally safe, cost-effective, and stable electrodes is essential for powering future miniaturized systems-on-chip smart devices. Planar-type device configurations, where electrodes are organized in an interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) pattern on the same substrate, provide several advantages over traditional sandwich types, such as controllable internal resistance and ionic diffusion distance, without a separator. These configurations reduce battery size and facilitate seamless integration with on-chip microelectronic devices. However, processing on-chip planar micro-batteries presents challenges, particularly in patterning metal IDEs current collectors using lithography techniques and loading active materials using traditional electrodeposition methods. These processes can hinder the direct printing of micro-batteries onto on-chip sensors, especially biomedical or related flexible sensors, making the realization of a systems-on-a-chip approach difficult. This project focuses on designing fully printed flexible on-chip planar zinc-ion micro-batteries (Planar-ZIMBs) using advanced Microplotter techniques. Printing the cathode and anode on metal-free exfoliated graphene current collectors eliminates complicated lithography and allows direct printing of Planar-ZIMBs with on-chip microelectronics. The innovation lies in exploring high-capacity manganese vanadium cathode and zinc anode materials without compromising material properties and integrating with a lithium-free compatible gel electrolyte, enabling micro-battery processing in environmentally friendly conditions and reducing overall processing costs. This new and innovative approach to developing micro-batteries is a critical advancement for the evolution of advanced miniaturized systems-on-chip smart devices.