Group Members

 After completing my doctoral studies at the University of Oviedo working on new chemoenzymatic routes to optically active alcohols via biocatalytic steps, I spent time at Lund University in Sweden working in Prof. Patrick Adlercreutz’s group on the optimisation of chemoenzymatic processes to obtain biodiesel, tailored triglycerides, and prebiotics using hydrolases. In 2015, I joined the group of Prof. Nicholas Turner as a research associate at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology to work on the discovery, characterisation, engineering, and synthetic applications of enzymes to access chiral amines. This accumulated experience served as a strong foundation for the establishment of my research group in 2020 at the Institute of Chemical Synthesis and Homogeneous Catalysis (ISCQH-CSIC) in Zaragoza recruited by The Aragonese Foundation for Research & Development (ARAID). Very recently, I received the prestigious Ramón y Cajal Fellowship and moved to the University of Oviedo where I currently develop my research with financial support through two national grants (PID2020-113351RA-100 and TED2021-130803B-I00). Since starting my independent career in Zaragoza, my main research interests have been the construction of chemoenzymatic cascades involving the integration of organocatalysis and biocatalysis and the discovery of novel enzymes for industrial biocatalysis. 

Christian Ascaso-Alegre graduated in chemistry at the University of Zaragoza in 2019. He then received his M.Sc. in Chemistry from the same University where he completed his research project on chemoenzymatic cascades combining bio and organocatalytic processes under the supervision Dr Juan Mangas-Sánchez and Professor Raquel Pérez Herrera. He is currently studying for his Ph. D. at the same laboratory working on cooperative catalysis to synthesise high-value chemicals in a sustainable manner

Ignacio Roces is currently finishing his studies in Biotechnology at the University of Oviedo. His Bachelor Thesis focuses on the preparation of UV blockers via Knoevenagel reaction coupled with enzymatic transesterification under the supervision of Prof. Vicente Gotor-Fernández and  Dr Juan Mangas-Sanchez.