Research Interests
Chemical synthesis of biologically relevant molecules remains the rate-limiting step in drug discovery and development despite the tremendous progress that has been made in academia and industry. Our research focuses on inventing and developing enabling chemical tools to address significant synthetic challenges facing biomedical sciences and pharmaceutical industry, thus accelerating creation of potential new medicines. To achieve this goal, our effort will be directed towards:
Innovating catalytic reactions that are compatible with molecules containing unprotected polar groups and heterocycles;
Designing and developing novel reagents for late-stage functionalization of complex synthetic molecules and natural products;
Discovering chemical transformations that are broadly applicable to complex biomolecules under physiological conditions.