The bullying that Mónica Pérez-Temprano experienced as a teenager made school a nightmare. “People thought that I didn’t fit in,” she says. Now, as one of the youngest research group leaders in Spain, she wears being different like a badge of honor.

While most chemists wait until a reaction works before trying to understand its steps in detail, Pérez-Temprano advocates probing the mechanisms of transition-metal catalysts alongside reaction development—especially when things aren’t yet running smoothly. When something’s not working, it means a reaction intermediate failed to form efficiently, she explains. Stabilizing that intermediate could make a transformation more efficient or point to new reactivity.

Since starting her lab at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, Pérez-Temprano has used cobalt as a test case for the theory that reactivity of intermediates can guide reaction design. Cobalt and other first-row transition metals are less expensive and more sustainable than the precious metals, such as palladium, that chemists typically use to forge new bonds. Moreover, catalysts containing first-row transition metals can potentially yield intermediates—and thus products—that catalysts containing precious metals cannot.

That variety would be a boon to chemists synthesizing materials or drug candidates. Yet reaction development for first-row metals is in relative infancy because mechanisms are unclear, making processes tough to steer in a desired direction.

Fortunately, “Mónica is laser focused on mechanism,” says University of Michigan, Ann Arbor’s Melanie Sanford, her postdoctoral adviser. “It was pretty brave of her to tackle these cobalt reactions,” Sanford adds, because those intermediates are notorious for falling apart easily.

Undaunted, Pérez-Temprano’s team last year captured an elusive seven-membered-ring cobalt intermediate for the first time. She’s excited to harness this intermediate for some cool cobalt chemistry, but she also wants to spread the word that focusing on intermediates could solve all sorts of chemical problems.

Ever mindful of her experience growing up, she takes pride in training undergraduates and advocating for women in science so they can forge their own unique paths. “I’ve found my place in the world,” she says. “And I’ve learned that mentoring and being visible changes other people’s lives.”—.