Reaction Methodology/Synthesis Strategy: This area of research is focused on defining enabling techniques for the facile synthesis of complex molecules. We pursue this course of study to define science that can be employed to allow medicinal exploration of molecules that are currently quite challenging/costly to prepare. Such contributions can have a broad impact with potential to shape the future of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
We are particularly concerned with advancing reaction methods and synthesis strategies that solve challenging problems associated with stereo- and regiocontrol in new carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions.

• Examples of new stereoselective reactions from our laboratory:

Natural Product Synthesis: In concert with our efforts directed at new synthetic methods, we are actively engaged in research aimed at demonstrating the utility of these methods in the synthesis of biologically important natural products. These pursuits often do not end with the completed laboratory synthesis of a rare natural product. Rather, the chemical solution defined serves as a scientific foundation to enable collaborative pursuits to explore the biology of the target and closely related synthetic analogs.

• Examples of natural product targets that our laboratory has synthesized:

Natural Product-Inspired Function-Oriented Synthesis: Our approach to the design, discovery, and development of new reaction methods and strategies of utility for complex molecule synthesis has the potential of providing enabling technologies suitable to drive efforts targeting the discovery of new biologically relevant small molecules. We are actively involved in such programs, and focus on developing the basic organic chemistry necessary to drive such pursuits. To date, these efforts take the form of targeting synthetic variants of natural products with potential therapeutic value, as well as an unbiased diversity-oriented approach, where common natural product motifs provide inspiration for the synthesis of large and diverse small molecule compound collections from which novel biological probes and/or therapeutics can be discovered. In each case, our efforts are soundly grounded in organic synthesis while our goals target interdisciplinary and collaborative pursuits at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine.

• Examples of projects that have been conducted in this area include: