Research

Total Synthesis and Medicinal Chemistry of Natural Products

Our research is centered on the chemical synthesis of bioactive natural products/natural product analogs and their biological characterization. Major objectives of our work are (i) the total synthesis of bioactive natural products and their profiling; (ii) the elucidation of the structural requirements for biological activity; (iii) the assessment of opportunities for structural simplification and molecular editing of complex natural products; and (iv) in selected cases, mechanism of action and structural studies. Ultimately, all of these efforts aim at the identification of new leads for drug discovery or potential drug candidates, with a main focus on cancer and infectious diseases. The work in the group is largely chemistry-based, while biological questions are addressed in collaborations with appropriate partners.