Team members

Rebecca Musgrave

Rebecca is from London (UK), and obtained her MChem degree in 2012 from the University of Oxford, working for Prof. Jose Goicoechea during her final year project on low-valent organometallics. She then undertook doctoral work on the synthesis, characterisation and application of metallocene-based polymers at Bristol University with Prof. Ian Manners. After this she won a Marie Curie Global Fellowship to work jointly with Prof. Ted Betley (Harvard University) and Dr. Rodolphe Clérac (CNRS) on transition metal clusters and their magnetic properties. She joined the Department of Chemistry at King's College London as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Inorganic Chemistry in July 2020.

Dr Daniel Wilson

Dan is from Carlisle (UK), and completed his MChem degree with Paddy McGowan at the University of Leeds, investigating metallodrugs for the treatment of cancer. He then obtained his DPhil from Oxford University under the supervision of Jose Goicochea, where he worked on projects ranging from heavy-element multiple bonds to the activation of small molecules such as CO2 and NH3. Afterwards, he moved to Yale University to work with Pat Holland where he studied the electronic structure of heterometallic, sulfur-rich clusters relevant to biological systems. Dan started in the Musgrave group in February 2023 and is working on bimetallic complexes.

Dr Rajeev Nishad

Rajeev is from India, and completed his M.Sci at DDU Gorakhpur University. Afterward, he obtained his PhD degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras under the supervision of Dr Arnab Rit in 2021. His PhD work was mainly focused on the synthetic and catalytic application of N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based transition metal complexes. After his PhD, he worked for a year in Gulf Oil International as an R&D Scientist. In 2023, he began working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Musgrave lab.

Benedict Thompson

Benedict is a 1st year PhD student working on the polymerisation of organometallic complexes. He completed a BSc in chemistry at the University of Warwick in 2020, including a year in industry researching novel water-borne polymer technologies for AkzoNobel Paints and Coatings. This was followed by an MRes at the University of York on the synthesis and characterisation of quadruply-bonded dimolybdenum paddlewheel complexes, before joining the Musgrave group in February 2022.

Lilian Karim

Lilian is fourth-year Chemistry MSci student at King’s College London working on the synthesis of heterobimetallic complexes. Previously, she completed a King’s Undergraduate Fellowship Research with Dr. James Harvey. Along with Chemistry, she enjoys baking, music, and eating all types of food.

Leo Weng-Hogan

Leo is a second-year Chemistry MSci student who is working with the Musgrave group for his King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship over the summer. Currently, he is working on the synthesis of a square planar zinc complex relevant to the active site of Acetyl-CoA Synthase. In the future, he hopes to explore more research in Inorganic Chemistry with an interest in air-sensitive compounds.

Olivia Zaks

Olivia is a second-year Chemistry BSc student working on the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) for use in a bimetallic complex relating to the activity of Acetyl-CoA Synthase. Prior to joining the Musgrave group as a summer Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) fellow, she completed a King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship with Clare McIlwaine (FoDOCs). During this project, she studied the impact of personalised study skills on undergraduate dental student’s academic performance.

Alumni