12 Jun 2024
Innovative sulfosugar research earns international team prestigious prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry
An international team including University of Melbourne researchers Dr Nichollas Scott and Dr Sacha Pidot, both Laboratory Heads at the Doherty Institute, Professor Spencer Williams, Department of Chemistry, and colleagues from Japan and the UK, have been awarded the prestigious Horizon Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry for their innovative research on the breakdown of unusual sulfur-containing sugars.
The team’s research focused on understanding how tiny organisms break down a specific type of sulfur-containing sugar called sulfosugar. Essential for life and found in many important molecules, sulfosugars are abundant and produced by almost all plants, with about 10 billion tonnes produced and broken down each year by photosynthetic organisms. Despite their prevalence, the mechanisms behind the breakdown of sulfosugars had remained a mystery until now.
The international team uncovered how nature recycles sulfosugars, shedding light on this vital process. Their discoveries not only advance fundamental scientific knowledge but also open new possibilities for addressing environmental challenges, improving industrial processes and enhancing human health.
Dr Nichollas Scott and Dr Sacha Pidot working in the laboratory at the Doherty Institute.
“I am extremely happy to be involved in such a great collaboration with colleagues at the University of Melbourne and across the globe and even happier to see the work recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The implications of this work are vast and significant, potentially transforming various fields,” said Dr Pidot.
"I was thrilled to learn that our research on bacterial sulfosugars was being recognised with an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry. This has been a really fun and rewarding collaborative effort over many years, employing cutting-edge approaches to unravel how nature breaks down a vast amount of biomass," said Dr Scott.
“The chemical sciences cover a rich and diverse collection of disciplines, from fundamental understanding of materials and the living world to applications in medicine, sustainability, technology and more. By working together across borders and disciplines, chemists are finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
“Their passion, dedication and brilliance are an inspiration. I extend my warmest congratulations to them all.”
About the Royal Society of Chemistry: Founded in 1841, the Royal Society of Chemistry is an international organisation connecting chemical scientists with each other, with other scientists and with society as a whole. Its Prizes portfolio is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, recognising excellence in the chemical sciences. Dr Scott and Dr Pidot join a prestigious list of past winners in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s prize portfolio, 60 of whom have gone on to win Nobel Prizes for their work.
For more information about this Prize visit: https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/2024-winners/biosulfur-recyclers