Email: scc98@bath.ac.uk
Address: Office 0.20A, 1 South, Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Twitter: @suscoote; @cootegroup
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3590-9113
Born in Bristol in 1981, Susannah graduated from the University of York in 2003 with a first class MChem (Chemistry With a Year In Europe). Her final year was spent at the Université Joseph Fourier (France) carrying out a research project with Dr Jean-François Poisson, working on thermal [2+2] cycloadditions using dichloroketene. She remained at the University of York for her Ph.D. studies, working under the supervision of Professor Peter O’Brien on several aspects of novel aziridine chemistry. During her Ph.D. studies, Susannah spent a 3-month sabbatical working as an intern on a medicinal chemistry project at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel (Switzerland). In 2007, Susannah moved to the Université Paris-Sud XI (France) for her first postdoctoral position, where she worked on the development of the catalytic asymmetric nitroso Diels-Alder reaction in the group of Professor Cyrille Kouklovsky. In 2009, Susannah moved to the University of Manchester, working as a postdoctoral associate in Professor David Procter’s research group. Her research at Manchester focused on the development of new samarium(II)-mediated cascade reactions and connective Pummerer reactions, with applications in medicinal, biological and materials chemistry. Susannah was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship in 2012 to join the Technische Universität München (hosted by Professor Thorsten Bach) in order to learn about photochemistry (in particular, enantioselective photochemical reactions). In October 2014, Susannah took up a post as Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Lancaster University, and she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2021. In January 2023, Susannah moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath.
Susannah’s research focuses on synthetic photochemistry, including photochemistry in flow and enantioselective photocatalysis. Particular emphasis is placed on the synthesis of four-membered rings, including carbocycles (cubanes, cyclobutadienes, cyclobutanes and their derivatives) and heterocycles (oxetanes, thietanes, azetidines, diazetidines and oxazetidines).
Departmental administrative roles:
- Undergraduate Admissions Tutor (August 2021 – December 2022; Lancaster)
- Synthetic Laboratory Coordinator (June 2015 – August 2022; Lancaster)
- Study Abroad Advisor (June 2015 – July 2019; Lancaster)
- Member of the Research Committee (June 2016 – June 2018; Lancaster)
External committees:
- Secretary/Treasurer of the Heterocyclic and Synthesis Interest Group (June 2018 – Jul 2022); previously committee member (Jan 2014-May 2018)
- Member of the EPRSC Dial-a-Molecule Steering Group (July 2018-May 2020)
- Organising committee member of the UK Retrosynthesis Competition (Sept 2014-Mar 2020)
- Member (co-opted) of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Organic Division Council (Aug 2015-Aug 2017)
Professional memberships:
- Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
- American Chemical Society
- Société Chimique de France
- Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker
- European Photochemistry Association
- International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry
Coote Group Research 