Research in the Welin Lab
Our group’s research is focused on the ways in which organic chemistry can impact and improve human health in 2020 and beyond. We use this to guide the natural products we pursue as well as the new reactions we choose to develop and study.
Total Synthesis of Natural Products
Natural products have inspired chemists for centuries. Most of the tools available to organic chemists were developed during total synthesis endeavors, and natural products have a profound influence on modern medicine. Indeed, roughly 60% of anticancer drugs are either natural products, or are derived from natural products. The Welin Lab is interested in the total synthesis of natural products, with a particular emphasis on those with anticancer activity.
New Reaction Development & Mechanistic Analysis
We are interested in the invention of new chemical processes to make it easier to make drugs and other valuable molecules. We consider which reactions we wish we had in our toolbox, and then we try to make them work! By focusing on reactivity and mechanisms, we try to creatively use common functional groups to accomplish previously unknown chemistry.
Photocatalysis
Photochemistry is an extensive field that involves the use of light to affect chemical transformations. The advent of modern organic and metal-based photocatalysis has allowed chemists to use visible light, rather than high-energy ultraviolet light, which has greatly expanding the willingness of chemists to use photocatalytic methods. The Welin Lab is interested in developing new methods to harvest the 50–60 kcal/mol available from visible light to affect new organic transformations.
