Scientific Program

Carlos Correia obtained his PhD from Stanford University in 1986 under the supervision of Prof. Paul A. Wender. He is a 1A Productivity Scholar of the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq), Fellow of the RSC, member of the Advisory Committee of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ChemPlusChem. He is the recipient of the "3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award", the Unicamp “Zeferino Vaz” Academic Recognition Award, and the CAPES Grand Prize Thesis Award among others.

Prof. Correia has over 150 publications, a book on the chemistry of alkaloids, and eight patents (two international ones). Along his career, he has supervised more than one hundred graduate students and postdocs. His main research interests are in organic synthesis, enantioselective metal catalysis, the development of new synthesis methods, and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with pharmacological activity.

Mamoru Tobisu received his PhD from Osaka University in 2001 (supervisor: Prof. Shinji Murai). During his PhD studies, he spent five months (1999) in Prof. Gregory C. Fu’s lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a period as a scientist at the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, he became an assistant professor at Osaka University in 2005 with Prof. Naoto Chatani.

Since 2017, he has been a full professor at Osaka University. His research interest centered on new synthetic methodology using organometallic and organic catalysts. He received the Young Scientists' Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2012), the Merck-Banyu Lectureship Award (2012), Thomson Reuters Research Front Award (2016), the Mukaiyama Award (2018), the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2023) and Osaka Science Prize (2023).

Antonio M. Echavarren got his PhD from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM, 1982). After a postdoctoral stay at Boston College, he joined the UAM as an Assistant Professor in 1984. Following a two years period as a NATO-fellow at Colorado State University, he joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the CSIC in Madrid. He returned in 1992 to the UAM as a Professor of Organic Chemistry. He is also Professor of Research of the CSIC since 2004. He moved in 2004 to Tarragona as a Group Leader at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ). 

Publications > 310. Invited, plenary lectures > 320. Doctoral Thesis: 63; Master Thesis: 48; Postdocs: 69.

Awards: Gold Medal of the RSEQ (2010), the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (2015), the Enrique Moles National Award in Chemical Science and Technology (2022), the 2023 RSC Organic Chemistry Pedler Prize, and the 2023 Rei Jaume I Award in Basic Research. He received two ERC Adv.Grants (2013 and 2019) and is President of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.

Frank Glorius studied chemistry at the University of Hannover, including a 9 month research stint to the group of Paul Wender at Stanford University. After a PhD with Andreas Pfaltz at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung and University of Basel, he did a postdoctoral stay with the late David A. Evans at Harvard University. In Summer of 2001 Frank started his independent career at the MPI für Kohlenforschung and became Assoc. Prof. at the University of Marburg in 2004. Since 2007 he is Full Professor at the University of Muenster. His research program for one focuses on the development of new concepts for diverse areas of catalysis such as photocatalysis, smart screening and data-based technologies including machine learning, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) in organocatalysis and in (asymmetric) arene hydrogenation. He is also interested in the design of functional molecules for modern batteries, surface modification and in-membrane applications. He has published more than 450 peer reviewed papers, many of which are highly cited. His work was highlighted by several awards such as the German Leibniz Award, the American ACS Cope Scholar Award, the Japanese Mukaiyama Award or MSD Award of the British RSC. He is most proud on the more than 180 excellent group members he has mentored, many of which have become leaders in industry and academia themselves.

Jonathan S. Lindsey (b. 1956) grew up in Indiana, did his undergraduate studies at Indiana University in Bloomington (1974–1978), and graduate and postdoctoral studies (1978–1984) at The Rockefeller University with Prof. David C. Mauzerall.  He was on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University for 12 years before joining North Carolina State University in 1996.  His interests concern the science and creation of tetrapyrrole macrocycles (porphyrins, chlorins, bacteriochlorins) and their roles in photosynthesis-like phenomena.  A sizeable focus over the years has concerned synthetic methodology in the tetrapyrrole arena.  To advance the photosciences, he also has developed the PhotochemCAD program and spectral databases.  

Rui Moreira is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, where he currently heads the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medicines, and leads the medicinal chemistry research group at the Research Institute for Medicines (iMed). He completed his degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, and obtained his PhD under supervision of Professors Eduarda Rosa (University of Lisbon) and Jim Iley (The Open University, UK). After a postdoctoral stay in the UK, Rui started his career as an independent scientist in Lisbon in 1993 and was promoted through the ranks to Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in 2006. His research interests are in the field of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, focused on the development of molecular targeted therapies to treat cancer and infectious diseases, and the design of novel chemical probes to celular study signalling systems.  He has published over 180 papers and supervised more than 20 PhD students. Rui was co-founder of the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Portuguese Chemical Society, a co-founder and board member of PT-OPENSCREEN, a national infrastructure for chemical biology and currently is the President of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology (EFMC).

Ed Anderson completed his Ph.D. at Cambridge with Prof. Andrew Holmes FRS from 1997-2001 on the synthesis and applications of medium-ring lactones and ethers. He then carried out postdoctoral work with Prof. Erik J. Sorensen at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla from 2001-2003, culminating in the first synthesis of the furanosteroid viridin. He returned to the U.K. in 2003, taking up a Junior Research Fellowship at Homerton College, Cambridge, working with Prof. Ian Paterson FRS; amongst other work, this led to the completion of the first total synthesis of the complex marine macrolide spirastrellolide A. 

In 2007, he was appointed as an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow in Oxford, and took up a Lectureship at Jesus College, Oxford, in 2009. He was promoted to Full Professor position in 2016, and is currently the Head of Organic Chemistry at Oxford. Recent recognition of his work include the 2019 Novartis Chemistry lectureship and the 2020 RSC Bader award.

His research interests encompasses all aspects of synthetic organic chemistry – from the total synthesis of biologically active molecules to the development of new synthetic methods, including transition metal-catalyzed transformations and cascade processes. Particular interests include the chemistry of small rings and their applications in medicinal chemistry, as well as ynamides and yndiamides. The group collaborates in a number of fields, most recently including research into the neglected tropical diseases of leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Berit Olofsson finished her PhD studies in asymmetric synthesis at KTH, Stockholm in 2002 (with Prof. Peter Somfai). She did a post doc on total synthesis with Prof. Aggarwal at Bristol University, UK in 2003-2004. When returning to Sweden, she became assistant supervisor in the group of Prof. Bäckvall at Stockholm University (SU). She started her own research group in 2006, upon recruitment as Ass. Professor at SU, and was promoted to Professor in 2013.

She currently serves as the President of the International Scientific Committee of ESOC, and is an Advisory Board member of Chem and Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. She was the Dean of Chemistry at SU 2019-2023, and the vice President of the organic chemistry division of EuCheMS 2018-2022.

She is an internationally leading expert in hypervalent iodine chemistry, and hosted the 7th International Conference on Hypervalent Iodine Chemistry (ICHIC) in 2023. Her research is focused on development of synthetic methodology towards iodine(III) reagents and their applications in transition metal-free and sustainable methodology for organic synthesis. The research interests were recently expanded to mechanochemistry. 

Professor Andrei K. Yudin is the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Medicine by Design at the Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto. He received his undergraduate degree at Moscow State University in 1992. He subsequently worked in the laboratories of G. K. S. Prakash and George A. Olah at USC, where he received his PhD in 1996. Following postdoctoral training with K. Barry Sharpless at the Scripps Research Institute, Professor Yudin started his independent career at the University of Toronto in 1998. He became a Full Professor at the University of Toronto in 2007. Between January 2015 and 2018, Professor Yudin served as the Chair of the Board for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry. He is currently an Associate Editor for Chemical Science. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and his research interests include heterocycles, peptides, synthetic half-reactions, and boron chemistry.

Jeff Kuethe studied chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University where he received a Bachelor of Science. He then joined the group of Professor Albert Padwa at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where he received his Ph.D. He continued as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Professor Daniel Comins at North Carolina State University before joining the Department of Process Research and Development at Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) Rahway, New Jersey, USA. His research interests include process research, synthetic methodology, heterocyclic chemistry, alkaloid and natural product synthesis, and tandem transformations.

Mark Lautens was born in Hamilton, Canada and attended the University of Guelph where he gained his first laboratory experience with Gordon Lange. He joined the University of of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a Ph.D. under the direction of Barry M. Trost, where he discovered catalytic molybdenum allylations and palladium enyne reactions. He completed postdoctoral work with David A. Evans at Harvard University where he initiated studies on the total synthesis of bryostatin. Lautens joined the University of Toronto in 1987 and was promoted to Professor in 1995. He was selected as the inaugural AstraZeneca Chair in 1998 and since 2012 is recognized as a University Professor, the highest rank in his institution.

Among his most significant international recognitions are an H.C. Brown Award, and A.C. Cope Award from the American Chemical Society, the Pedler Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, and an Alexander von Humboldt Award from the AvH Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada, for service to the nation. In addition to his scientific research, he has become a vocal advocate for science and written multiple OpEds in the national newspaper. He has mentored 100 graduate students and an equal number of postdoctoral fellows.

Ryan Shenvi is a Professor at Scripps Research in La Jolla, CA. His laboratory works at the interface of catalysis, complex molecule synthesis and structural biology. Ryan was born in Wilmington, Delaware and earned his B.S. degree with honors and distinction in chemistry as a Schreyer’s Scholar at Penn State University, where he conducted research with John Desjarlais and Raymond Funk.  Ryan earned his Ph.D. in 2008 from The Scripps Research Institute as an NDSEG Fellow under the supervision of Phil S. Baran, and undertook postdoctoral studies as a Ruth L. Kirschstein NIH Postdoctoral Fellow with E. J. Corey at Harvard University. He serves as Advisory Editor on the Angewandte Chemie Scientific Advisory Committee, Executive Editor at the Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis and as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Tetrahedron Chem, ACS Central Science and Accounts of Chemical Research.

After completing his Ph.D. in Oxford, Will moved to his current institution, the University of York, first as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Prof. Richard Taylor, before moving onto a Research and Teaching Fellowship in 2013. In 2016 he started his independent career as a Leverhulme Trust early career fellow, and then later as holder of the inaugural Eleanor Dodson Fellowship. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry. His current research interests include ring expansion approaches for the synthesis of medium-sized rings and macrocycles, catalyst selective synthesis and biocatalysis. Will also has won several prizes for his research, most notably the RSC Hickinbottom Award for his work on the synthesis of spirocycles and macrocycles.

Nuno R. Candeias graduated in Applied Chemistry from New University of Lisbon (2004) and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Technical University of Lisbon, under the supervision of Prof. Carlos A. M. Afonso (2008). After, he took a post-doc at Lisbon University (Portugal) and at the Scripps Research Institute (San Diego, USA). From 2012-2019 he was University Lecturer and independent researcher at Tampere University of Technology (Finland) where he was also Academy Research Fellow (2015-2020). In 2020 he moved to the University of Aveiro as an Assistant Professor. His research interests span multiple topics, from synthetic chemistry, green chemistry, medicinal chemistry and computational chemistry, targeting thee design and development of new catalytic reactions for the synthesis of small molecules, as well as the valorization of renewable feedstocks and waste material using photoredox catalytic methods.  

Prof. Andy Lawrence is a synthetic organic chemist with research interests in the chemical synthesis of natural products, exploring new strategies and concepts in chemical synthesis, and developing new synthetic methodology. Andy completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford, St John’s College (2002–2006, MChem, Hons 1st Class) and subsequently obtained a DPhil degree in 2010 under the supervision of Prof. Sir Jack Baldwin FRS and Prof. Rob Adlington.

Andy then moved to Australia to spend two years (2010–2011) as a postdoctoral research fellow with Prof. Mick Sherburn at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. In 2012, Andy began his independent academic career as an Australian Research Council Fellow at the ANU before moving back to the UK in 2013 for a permanent academic position at the University of Edinburgh, where he is now full Professor.

Paula Sério Branco is Associate Professor with Habilitation at NOVA FCT involved in the teaching of Organic Chemistry and Organic Synthesis. The scientific activity has been focused in the target-oriented organic synthesis, and the scientific interests have diversified in several areas always having by base the design and synthesis of new molecules and new reactions, which can contribute to interdisciplinary solutions. Namely, i) idealization and synthesis of new dye molecules as sensitizers for solar cells and new organic redox mediators with application in energy storage devices, ii) the functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles based on magnetite with metals or organic ligands, and iii) the synthesis of natural products and derivatives with potential biological interest. 

Asunción Barbero completed her studies in Chemistry at the University of Valladolid. She then undertook her PhD studies under the guidance of Prof. Pulido, which was recognized with the Doctorate Extraordinary Award of the University of Valladolid. Granted with a two-year European Marie Curie fellowship, she moved to the University of Cambridge (UK) to work under the supervision of Prof. Ian Fleming. Later, she returned to the University of Valladolid as Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2001 and to full Professor in 2019. The results of her research have been presented in several invited and plenary lectures at prestigious international conferences (12) and are summarized in over 70 publications on highly qualified international journals and book chapters. Her major research interests focus on the development of efficient and selective methodologies for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with potential biological properties.

Gianluca M. Farinola is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Bari., where he is also the pro-rector for research and innovation. 

He is President of Società Chimica Italiana (2023-2025), and he served as the President of the EuChemS Division of Organic Chemistry (2018-2012) 

He got his PhD in Chemical Sciences in 1997. He has been visiting researcher at the University of Muenster, University of Strasbourg , France (Institut de Science et d’Ingégnerie Supramoléculaire – ISIS) and at the University of Angers and CNRS, France, and visiting scholar at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, US , where he was appointed as Adjunct Professor in 2019. 

Research of Gianluca Farinola focuses on new synthetic methods to produce molecular and polymeric organic materials for emerging technologies ranging from organic photonics and electronics to biomedicine. 

In the search of improved sustainable protocols, in last ten years his research has opened intriguing directions by exploiting photosynthetic microorganisms (e.g. algae and bacteria) and biological polymers (e.g. melanin, fibroin, lignin, biosilica) as sources of smart materials for future optoelectronics and biomedicine. 

Véronique Michelet completed her graduate studies at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris and received her PhD degree in 1996 from Sorbonne University. After post-doctoral studies in the USA and UK, she was appointed at ChimieParisTech as CNRS Associate Researcher in 1998 and obtained a Professor position at the Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur in 2017. Her work has been recognized through several awards including the Bronze medal of CNRS (2006), the DCO award (Division de Chimie Organique de la Société Chimique de France, 2022) and the Grammaticakis-Neuman/Fondation Grammaticakis award from the Académie des sciences in 2023. Her research interests combine fondamental and applied aspects of catalysis for the development of new synthetic methodologies for carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom formations. They involve asymmetric catalysis, and the development of novel catalytic systems for atom- and step-economical reactions such as cycloisomerization reactions and domino processes. Gold catalysis is one of her favorite research topics.

Romano Orru completed his PhD in organic chemistry at the Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. From 1996 to 2000 he worked at the Technical as well as at the Karl-Franszens University of Graz, Austria on synthetic applications of bio-transformations. In 2000, he returned to the Netherlands, and was appointed Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor (2003) of Synthetic & Bioorganic Chemistry at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he was appointed chair in 2007. End of 2019 he moved to the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials of Maastricht University as a professor of Organic Chemistry. Early 2022 he became the Scientific Director of AMIBM. His research focuses on the utilisation of one-pot cascade reactions and multi-component reactions to improve the efficiency, sustainability and precision of organic compound synthesis, with emphasis on applications in the field of pharmaceutical science. For that, he develops novel MCRs and employs them in combination with biocatalysts in one-pot processes to access targeted molecules in a stereoselective fashion. In another research line he develops isocyanides as versatile C1 building blocks in (transition) metal-catalyzed insertion reactions towards privileged heterocyclic scaffolds. He is considered a leader in his field and has contributed much to this emerging area. 

After a PhD with Pr Samir Zard in 1992, Laurent EL KAIM started is academic career as assistant professor at ENSTA Paris in 1993. He became professor of ENSTA Paris in 2001 and took over in 2016 the direction of the LSO, a joint research unit between Ecole Polytechnique and ENSTA Paris. He his since 2022 the deputy director of research at ENSTA Paris.

Since the creation of his research group in 1993, Laurent El Kaim has published over 150 publications. Beside a  strong intererest for nitro as well as hydrazones derivatives, his activities are mainly associated with isocyanide chemistry. He has  explored this latter field following two directions : trying to discover new reactions involving isocyanides and using Ugi and Paserini type adducts as starting materials for further transformations. Many of his studies are associated withnew approaches towards heterocycles.

Adrian obtained his BSc (1992) and PhD (1996) at King's College London, the latter under the supervision of Professor Keith Jones and working on the development of heteroaryl radicals in synthesis. He was awarded a Royal Society European Research Exchange Fellowship for post-doctoral work with Professor Istvan Markó at the Université catholique de Louvain, in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium between 1996-8, working towards the total synthesis of okadaic acid.

On his return to the UK, Adrian joined the process development group of GSK as an industrial postdoctoral researcher, before taking up his first academic post at the University of Exeter. Subsequently in 2005, Adrian was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at Queen Mary University of London (2006) and then Chair of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Greenwich in January 2013, where he was also Head of the School of Science between 2018-2022.  He joined the University of Surrey as Head of the new School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering in March 2022.

Away from work, Adrian is a very keen Crystal Palace supporter and is an accomplished pianist and organist, regularly performing on both instruments and also leading, conducting and rehearsing several orchestras and choirs.