Jeff Aubé

Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor, Jointly Appointed with the School of Pharmacy

New Synthetic Techniques, Total Synthesis, Study of Peptidomimetics

The Aubé group has a continuing interest in the development of new reactions that complement existing methods for the preparation of biologically relevant molecules. This interest has been especially directed toward nitrogen-insertion reactions because of the ubiquity of nitrogen in pharmaceutical products.We have used such ring expansion reactions in syntheses of alkaloids, amino acid bioisosteres, and various classes of peptidomimetics.

A useful reaction discovered in the Aubé laboratories is the intramolecular Schmidt reaction. This beautifully simple reaction involves the acid-promoted combination of a carbonyl compound with an alkyl azide. The result of this process is an amide, one of the most versatile nitrogen-containing functional groups known. As part of an active program in total synthesis, the group has used this new reaction in synthetic approaches to compounds such as the indolizidine alkaloids of South American poison frogs, sparteine, aspidospermidine, and stenine.

Another aspect of our overall research program is concerned with how novel molecules can be designed as peptide mimics, enzyme inhibitors, or as probes of cellular transport processes. Peptide mimics are compounds designed to inhabit the naturally occurring recognition sites of biologically important peptide hormones, eventually resulting in the synthesis of small-molecule antagonists or agonists of the endemic peptides. This project involves aspects of NMR, CD, and computational methods in addition to organic synthesis. In collaborative work, we have also been heavily involved in the synthesis of protease inhibitors and the study of cellular transport mechanisms.

University of Kansas, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University Distinguished Professor, 2012 - present, Professor, 1996 - 2012; Associate Professor, 1992 - 1996; Assistant Professor, 1986 - 1992; Leader, Drug Discovery, Development, and Experimental Therapeutics division, KU Cancer Center, 2012 – present; Full member, KU Masonic Cancer Center, 2008 – present; Director, Synthesis Core, KU Center for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics, 2009 – present; Director, KU Specialized Chemistry Center, 2008 – present; Director and co-PI, Atlantis Dual Degree Program, 2006 – 2011; Member, Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute, 2005 - present; Director, KU Chemical Methodologies and Library Design Center, 2003-present; Innovatec lecturer, University of Regensburg, Germany, 2003; Center for Teaching Excellence, Interim Director, 2001 - 2002; Visiting Professor, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, 1997; Invited Professor, University of Rennes I, Rennes, France, 1993; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, 1984-1986, Yale University with Professor Samuel Danishefsky; Research Assistant, 1980-1983, Duke University. Research director: Professor Steven W. Baldwin. Dissertation title: "Asymmetric Synthesis with Chiral Hydroxylamines."; Undergraduate Research, 1979-1980, University of Miami, with Professor Robert E. Gawley
Midwest Award, St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society, 2012; ACS Fellow, American Chemical Society, selected 2012; Arthur C. Cope Scholar, American Chemical Society, 2012; Leading Light Award, University of Kansas, 2012; Sato International Award, Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, 2011; Abbott Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010; Nikolai N. Khaladjan International Award for Innovation in Higher Education, American Association of University Administrators, 2008; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2004; Olin Petefish Award for Research in the Basic Sciences, Higuchi/Endowment Research Achievement Award, University of Kansas, 2001; Fellow, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, 1996; Phi Beta Kappa, honorary member, 1996; American Cyanamid Faculty Award in Organic Chemistry, 1993; Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 1993-1995; Eli Lilly Grantee, 1989-1991.

Joanna Atkin

Assistant Professor

Near-field optics and imaging, Tip-enhanced spectroscopy, Plasmonics

Infrared and visible spectroscopies can provide a wide range of information about electronic and chemical structure and dynamics in materials systems. However, the information has a relatively low spatial resolution, determined by the diffraction limit of light.

With the increasing development of nanostructures, low dimensional materials, and devices based on nanoscale morphology, the need for nanometer-scale optical and infrared techniques has grown. One approach is scattering-scanning near-field optical spectroscopy, s-SNOM. This nano-optical spectroscopy takes advantage of the "optical antenna" properties of metallic nanostructures, such as an atomic force microscope tip, to concentrate and locally enhance light.

This is compatible with a wide range of optical spectroscopies, and enables nanometer spatial resolution. In this way, it is possible to probe the structure and behavior of systems such as 1D and 0D nanostructures, which often show heterogeneous strain and doping profiles. Polymer and bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices also rely on complex nanoscale morphology for improved performance, but the interplay of the electric field at interfaces and modification of vibrational properties with overall performance is not well understood.

Biological imaging is also a field of research where high spatial resolution coupled with chemical specificity can provide novel information about, for example protein folding or tissue damage. Our research is multidisciplinary, interfacing chemistry, biology, materials science, physics, and engineering. Interested students please contact me to discuss possible research projects.

B.S. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 2002; Ph.D. Physics, Columbia University, New York, 2010; Postdoctoral Research Scientist, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2010-2014.

Erik Alexanian

Professor

Synthetic Organic and Organometallic Chemistry, Catalysis

Research in our group focuses on the development of enabling reaction methods in chemical synthesis. These projects aim to address important challenges facing society, ranging from the sustainable synthesis of small molecules to treat human disease, to the upcycling of post-consumer plastic waste.  A primary focus is the late-stage functionalization of unactivated C–H bonds in both small molecules and polymers to efficiently access complex molecules and materials with enhanced properties. We also pursue the development of new modes of reactivity in transition metal catalysis, with an emphasis on the use of common molecular feedstocks and earth-abundant first-row catalysts.

A.B. Chemistry, Harvard University, 2001; Ph.D. Princeton University, 2006; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006-2008

Marcey Waters

Glen H. Elder, Jr. Distinguished Professor

Bioorganic Chemistry, Molecular Recognition

Our group is an interdisciplinary group, focusing on problems of molecular and biomolecular recognition. Molecular recognition impacts a wide range of fields, including asymmetric catalysis, materials chemistry, and protein folding. Consider, for example, designing a drug to bind to the active site of an enzyme. What features other than shape might contribute to binding? What types of interactions will provide high affinity as well as high selectivity? These are general questions in the field of molecular recognition that we are investigating for applications to biosensing, drug delivery, and de novo protein design. The research interests in our group span a wide range, from mechanistic organic chemistry and molecular recognition to structural biology, and hence involve the use of a variety of techniques. Methods used in our group include organic and solid phase synthesis, combinatorial chemistry, computational chemistry, molecular biology, kinetic and thermodynamic measurements using 1D and 2D NMR, circular dichroism, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, and calorimetry. The extent that any one student uses these techniques depends largely on the particular student's research interests.

BA, UCSD, 1992; PhD, The University of Chicago, 1997; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University, 1997-1999; NSF Career Award, 2001-2006; Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 2004-2006; Board of Directors, Mesilla Chemistry Workshop; Advisory Board Member, International Symposia on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry.