Rate My Professor Sebastian Cosgrove

Dr Sebastian Cosgrove is a Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry in the Lennard-Jones School of Chemical and Physical Sciences at Keele University, having joined as a Lecturer in November 2020 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in May 2024. He holds the roles of Deputy Programme Director for Careers and Employability in the Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry programmes and Course Director for the Chemistry MRes. Hailing from Bradford in West Yorkshire, Cosgrove obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Manchester, where he spent a year in industry at Syngenta's Jealott’s Hill site and completed a final-year project with Prof David Procter on samarium diiodide reductions. He earned his PhD from the University of Leeds under Prof Steve Marsden, researching metal-free photochemical C-N bond formation. Following this, he was awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, collaborating with Prof Nick Turner on combining biocatalysts with precious-metal catalysis and later with Prof Sabine Flitsch. He also worked with Prof Nigel Scrutton in the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub on continuous flow biocatalysis.

Cosgrove's research centers on biocatalysis and continuous flow processes within synthetic organic chemistry, focusing on enzyme immobilisation, oxidase enzymes, carbohydrate-active enzymes, and nucleic acid-active enzymes to develop efficient bioprocesses. His contributions include pioneering enzyme engineering for challenging transformations. Notable publications encompass 'Development of continuous flow systems to access secondary amines through previously incompatible biocatalytic cascades' (Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2021), 'Biocatalysis using immobilized enzymes in continuous flow for the synthesis of fine chemicals' (Organic Process Research & Development, 2018), 'Highly productive oxidative biocatalysis in continuous flow by enhancing the aqueous equilibrium solubility of oxygen' (Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018), 'Multifunctionality of IREDs in a single pot' (ACS Catalysis, 2024), and 'One-pot alcohol oxidase-Wittig reaction entirely in water' (Organic Letters, 2024). With over 1,300 citations, his work advances biocatalytic methodologies, fostering collaborations with academic and industrial partners through his active research group at Keele.