Our eclectic research spans the development of new reactions, natural products synthesis and medicinal chemistry. 

 

In our fundamental research we focus on developing heterocyclic chemistry for drug discovery. More recently, we have developed mild electrocyclization reactions for synthesis of cycloheptanes. We prioritize practicality, selectivity and functional group tolerance as key design elements to develop truly useful methods. When necessary, we conduct mechanistic studies using physical organic chemistry techniques to understand new reactions.

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We are also increasingly interested in applying our reactions in concise natural product synthesis. Current targets of interest include ent-plagiochianin, waltherione C and lactapiperanol E.

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Our medicinal chemistry research involves the synthesis of natural products or tool compounds to facilitate collaborative biochemical and pharmaceutical research. Our goals are to help understand the biological mechanism underpinning serious diseases and advance small molecule therapeutic candidates.

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To do this work we currently receive generous funding from:

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• The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery program 

• The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Alliance program

• The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

• F. Hoffmann - La Roche

• The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)

• The Ontario Research Fund (ORF)

• York University