Dr. Sally Boss

Biography

Professor Sally Boss is a Teaching Professor in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and the Deputy Senior Tutor at Churchill College. Her teaching responsibilities encompass lecturing courses on structure, bonding, and reactivity of transition metal complexes and main group compounds, as well as conducting practical classes and small group tutorials for chemistry students in the Natural Sciences degree. Her research focuses on the synthesis of heavier transition metal organometallic species and their conjugation to protein targets with precise, controlled placement. She aims to construct and evolve artificial metalloenzymes to explore their catalytic activity and selectivity in new-to-nature reactivity. Her work includes generating artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) through ligand exchange that reveals catalytic activities. Boss employs techniques such as tandem mass spectrometry and 19F NMR spectroscopy to characterize organometallic cofactors and to identify protein-derived ligands. Ultimately, her research strives to produce catalytically active ArMs that evolve artificially in a manner akin to their natural counterparts, focusing on novel reactivity and enhanced catalytic performance.

Research Interests