Research Overview
From the inception of medicine, secondary metabolites have been used to treat human diseases. These natural products continue to inspire the development of improved synthetic design and new methodologies, which ultimately streamline the field of drug discovery. Central to our research program is the discovery of new chemical reactivities to propel the creation of synthetic routes with high selectivity and efficiency. This, in turn, will set the stage for comprehensive bioactivity studies of the natural target and structural analogs.
Methodology-driven total synthesis of bioactive molecules
There have been several instances where natural product total synthesis was witnessed as an engine for discovering new chemical reactions. Our research group will primarily focus on developing unorthodox strategies to achieve elegant syntheses of complex molecules.
New skeletal editing tools
Chemical reactions involving skeletal editing have found profound significance in drug discovery, considering its role in late-stage diversification. Concurrently, boration chemistry has played a pivotal role in organic synthesis since the discovery of hydroboration by Hurd and Brown. We aim to bridge these two fields by employing new organoborane reagents to effect facile skeletal editing of functional molecules.
What next?
Always happy to explore new directions!