Winner: 2025 CBBG Lectureship Award
Dr Anna Peacock
欧美AV
For her outstanding contributions to the chemical biology and bioinorganic chemistry communities, as well as her exceptional research on the design of new-to-nature metalloproteins, including towards novel MRI contrast agents.
Anna received the award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the chemical biology and bioinorganic chemistry communities, as well as her exceptional research on the design of new-to-nature metalloproteins, including towards novel MRI contrast agents.
Anna has been an active and committed member of the 欧美AV since the beginning of her independent academic career. She has served on multiple committees, including the Inorganic Biochemistry Discussion Group (IBDG, since 2015), Dalton Division Council (2016 to 2023) and the Chemistry Biology Interface Division (CBID) Council (2017鈥�2020). She is also a passionate mentor and advocate for equity and inclusion, mentoring underrepresented chemical scientists through the 欧美AV Broadening Horizons programme since its inception.
Anna is internationally recognised for her trailblazing research in functional metalloprotein design. Anna and her team engineer miniature artificial protein scaffolds - based on coiled-coil peptides 鈥� that host new-to-nature metal binding sites. By moving beyond biomimicry and leveraging the breadth of inorganic chemistry, her group unlocks chemical space inaccessible to traditional ligands or natural proteins, generating complexes with unprecedented properties.
Her team is best known for their outstanding work to develop a new class of artificial metalloproteins for potential use in MRI. Their gadolinium-coiled coil constructs outperform clinical agents in terms of relaxivity (JACS 126 (2014) 1166), challenging long-standing conventions in ligand design. Subsequent work revealed how binding site placement and second-sphere interactions (ChemComm. 56 (2020) 3729 鈥� HOT Article), can be used to predictably fine-tune MRI efficiency, culminating in the highest relaxivity gadolinium-coiled coil reported (Chem. Sci. 7 (2016) 2207途 Dalton Trans. 52 (2023) 15665 鈥� HOT Article).
Anna鈥檚 work has expanded to include other f-block metals, delivering the first crystal structure of a lanthanide-bound coiled coil and demonstrating unprecedented location-dependent size selectivity (Angew. Chem. 2021). Most recently, they broke new ground by introducing the first protein-based CuOx site and proved copper can rival gadolinium in MRI contrast agent design (PNAS 120 (2023) e2219036120) - challenged a long-standing misconception that copper is unsuitable for this purpose and redefining the fields鈥� boundaries.
Beyond the lab, Anna is a pillar of the chemical biology and inorganic chemistry communities. A committed member of the 欧美AV since 2009, she鈥檚 held key roles including on the IBDG (Treasurer since 2021), Dalton Division Council (2016鈥�2023), CBID Council (2017-2020), and multiple advisory boards and working groups. She鈥檚 reviewed 欧美AV funding proposals, helped organise over 18 national and international scientific meetings, and contributed to the development of the EPSRC Directed Assembly Network Roadmap to Innovation. A passionate mentor and advocate for inclusion, Anna has supported BAME chemical scientists through the fantastic 欧美AV Broadening Horizons programme since its launch.
Anna will present her award lecture at the CBBG 2026 Chemical Biology meets Drug Discovery meeting