Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/03/2023
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Title: From anti-cancer and anti-viral natural products to synthetic organic chemistry and back again.

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Time:1:30-2:30

Room: ABB 165

Host: Yurij Mozharivskyj

Abstract: A selection of my research activities over the last 30 years will be presented. Highlights will include advances in olefination reactions leading to functionalised alkenes and development of selected organocatalytic cascade sequences and homogeneous transition metal mediated alkene/alkyne activation reactions. Applications in the total synthesis of biologically active natural products and analogs will showcase the value of this methodology in advancing small molecules with anti-parasitic, anti-cancer and anti-viral activities. The development of a synthetic alkaloid analog with potent and selective anti-viral activity to the SARSCoV-2 coronavirus will showcase the value of natural products and the role of synthetic chemistry in unraveling the pharmacophore and the surprising mechanism of action of this class of therapeutic.