Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Development of Catalytic, Asymmetric Ritter-Type Reactions of Racemic Precursors

Andre Sanchez被授予NSF数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金(NSF MPS-Ascend)，以开展与STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)中代表性较低的群体扩大参与相关的研究和活动。桑切斯博士的这笔奖学金支持在一位赞助科学家的指导下进行的题为“MPS-Ascend：外消旋前体的催化、不对称里特型反应的发展”的研究项目。该奖学金的主办机构是哈佛大学，赞助科学家是埃里克·雅各布森博士。该建议旨在利用氢键供体(HBD)催化从现成的外消旋前体开发催化的不对称Ritter型反应，为基于小分子的药物开发提供增值的手性材料。研究计划概述了通过确定合适的HBD催化剂框架、利用非共价相互作用的协同网络来实现所需转化的具体策略。机械和计算研究的结合有可能提供对映体诱导所必需的关键的非共价相互作用和催化剂特征的洞察。科学上更广泛的影响包括应用于药物发现和新治疗技术的开发。拟议的项目将作为一个教学平台，指导来自未被充分代表的少数群体的高中、本科生和研究生。私隐专员公署将担任部门及校园多元化计划的委员会成员。PI将参与旨在建立包容性社区和使教授多样化的专业网络和会议机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Andre Sanchez is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). This fellowship to Dr. Sanchez supports the research project entitled “MPS-Ascend: Development of Catalytic, Asymmetric Ritter-Type Reactions of Racemic Precursors” under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is Harvard University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Eric Jacobsen. The proposal aims at the development of catalytic, asymmetric Ritter-type reactions from readily available racemic precursors using hydrogen-bond donor (HBD) catalysis to provide access to value-added chiral materials for small molecule-based drug discovery. The research plan outlines specific tactics that will enable the desired transformations through identification of a suitable HBD catalyst framework, capitalizing on a synergistic network of non-covalent interactions. A combination of mechanistic and computational investigations has the potential to provide insight into the critical non-covalent interactions and catalyst features necessary for enantioinduction. Scientific broader impacts include applications to drug discovery and development of new therapeutic technologies.The proposed project will serve as a teaching platform for the mentoring of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from underrepresented minority groups. The PI will serve as a committee member on departmental and campus-wide diversity initiatives. The PI will participate in professional networking and conference opportunities aimed at building an inclusive community and diversifying the professoriate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.