When
Presenter:
Dr. Christopher Newton
Professor, Department of Chemistry,
University of Georgia
Abstract:
The overarching theme of our research program concerns the development of new and general pericyclic strategies that enable efficient access to complex cyclic frameworks of biological importance. A hallmark of our approach is the design of atypical cycloaddition reaction partners that are at a high oxidation level (i.e., large degree of heteroatom incorporation and/or unsaturation) in order to confer unique reactivity, while also minimizing the need for redox manipulations post cycloaddition. A significant challenge within this area is the development of methods that remain operationally friendly, for highly unsaturated heteroatom-rich molecules often exhibit challenging stability profiles. Generally speaking, our approaches leverage fundamental structure and reactivity studies to inform the optimization of our proposed reaction partners in order to gain kinetic stability without sacrificing desired reactivity. Once we have developed a new methodology, our focus pivots toward applications in target-oriented synthesis, typically merging our abiotic pericyclic methodologies with bioinspired cascades.
Bio:
Chris was born and raised in New Zealand, obtaining a BSc (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington. He conducted his PhD at the Australian National University under the supervision of Professor Michael Sherburn, focusing on the application of cross-conjugated hydrocarbons in total synthesis. Following graduation, Chris conducted postdoctoral studies in the group of Professor Nicolai Cramer (EPFL, Switzerland), working in the areas of enantioselective CH functionalization and biomimetic natural product synthesis. Chris returned to Australia as a DECRA Fellow at the University of Adelaide, before moving to the University of Georgia (USA) in 2021 to start as an Assistant Professor.
Hosted by: Dr. Jon Njardarson