Organic chemistry methods development. Students working with me will attempt to make biologically important small molecule scaffolds in new and innovative ways. My specific interests involve asymmetric organocatalysis, which uses chiral organic molecules to catalyze enantioselective reactions.
Antibiotic discovery and evaluation. Students working with me will synthesize small organic molecules that may be effective at inhibiting bacterial growth. This research area is more interdisciplinary, as students will use standard organic chemistry methods to synthesize compounds and they will learn microbiological techniques to test these molecules in biological systems.
