There are two major themes to our research activities. 

One is the synthesis of structurally complex, biologically active natural products. My research group has completed total syntheses of more than 25 stereochemically complex natural products, structures and references for which are provided elsewhere on this website.  These efforts in total synthesis have been pursued in parallel with reaction design, stereochemical studies, and the development of new synthetic methods. 

 
Structures of natural products that are of current interest in our laboratory are provided in the project links that follow.  These complex molecules were selected as targets for our current research efforts owing to their biological properties as well as their interesting structures. We place a significant emphasis on the discovery, development, and/or illustration of new reactions and synthetic methods for achieving high levels of stereochemical control in each of these synthesis efforts. Some of these projects involve intramolecular cycloaddition reactions. Others make use of acyclic diastereo- or enantioselective stereochemical techniques, such as the reactions of allylmetal reagents with carbonyl compounds.  Still others focus on problems in carbohydrate chemistry.

The second major area of interest in my laboratory focuses on problems in bioorganic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. One long-term project involves the design and synthesis of inhibitors of cysteine proteases isolated from tropical parasites. This research is performed in collaboration with cell biologists, protein chemists, X-ray crystallographers and molecular modeling experts at the University of California, San Francisco.  We have also participated in the development of pro-apoptotic benzodiazepines in collaboration with Prof. Glick at the University of Michigan, and the design of novel heterocycles targeting HIV.  New projects at Scripps Florida will involve small molecule discovery efforts focusing on cancer and other validated targets, as well as the optimization of the pharmacological profile of certain natural products.

Current synthesis projects involving

What's been completed