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Research

  

Our research program is focussed on the development of new synthetic methods and their application toward the synthesis of biologically active compounds, particularly nitrogen heterocycles and alkaloid natural products. Recent total syntheses from the group include kitastatin, antimycin, hydrazidomycin, martinelline, luotonin A and tetrahydrolipstatin. We are interested in several different synthetic methods, including boron chemistry, iminium ions, cycloadditions, sigmatropic rearrangements, electrocyclizations and metal catalyzed reactions (Cu, Pd, Rh and Ln).

We are interested in syntheses that are conducted in both a conventional manner, as in approaches toward natural product targets, as well as using parallel solution-phase, polymer-supported methods and microwave accelerated reactions. More recently we have embarked upon collaborative chemical biology projects in the areas of cancer and diabetes.

The diversity of projects and students is an important part of the group dynamic, allowing students to experience a range of different chemistries. We hold two group meetings per week: one on current literature, and research or topics and the other meeting on either a problem set or retrosynthetic analysis. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are encouraged to work independently and test out their own ideas. If you are interested in joining the group or have questions, please contact Prof. Batey directly.     

 

Working in Our Group

We have both undergraduate and graduate student positions in our lab. To inquire about potential vacancies within our group, please contact Prof. Rob Batey directly at rbatey@chem.utoronto.ca with your curriculum vitae and academic transcipts.     

 

Collaborations

Our group participates in collaborative research projects in the area of chemical biology / medicinal chemistry. For example we are currently involved projects involving the identification of molecules that display anticancer / apoptotic behaviour. Our collaborators are mainly local, with other University of Toronto departments or associated hospitals. We welcome new opportunities in academic and industrially relevant partnerships where our expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry can be leveraged, both locally, in Canada and internationally.        

 

Funding

We acknowledge generous funding for our research from the following agencies: