I am a synthetic chemist/ chemical biologist with a particular interest in the biosynthesis of natural products, and am especially fascinated by the enzymes involved in in sugar and nucleoside biosynthesis and modification. I am passionate about biocatalysis, considering it the most striking and environmentally-friendly approach to synthesis. I am currently working on a very interdisciplinary project, combining synthetic chemistry, molecular biology and enzymology. Specifically, I am investigating the biosynthesis of the nucleoside moiety of pacidamycins, by focusing on the enzymes involved. Combining synthetic chemistry and heterologous expression, kinetic and crystallisation studies I aim to obtain a better understanding of the function of these enzymes, that could be potentially used for the generation of nucleoside antiviral targets.