CBC Seminar Series presents, Dr. Adam Cook, Stanford University: "From Mechanisms to Medicine: Chemistry, from a Problem’s Perspective"

CBC Seminar Series presents:

Dr. Adam Cook, Stanford University

"From Mechanisms to Medicine: Chemistry, from a Problem’s Perspective"

In our discussion, I will present a series of problem-driven vignettes unified by the central role of synthetic organic chemistry in pursuit of their solutions. My first story focuses on a fundamental mechanistic challenge: how a deep understanding of transition-metal catalysis and organometallic reactivity can enable cross-coupling reactions from traditionally inaccessible alcohol-derived scaffolds. Through rigorous mechanistic analyses and high-throughput enabled catalyst design, I developed a strategy that expands the scope of Suzuki-Miyaura reactions while demonstrating how deep mechanistic insight represents the key to unlocking new reactivity.^2,3

Then, my seminar turns to problems of medical significance where molecular design and synthesis become central tools towards solutions. First, I will discuss how mechanistically informed molecular design was applied to the development of ionizable lipid nanoparticle-based delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics, enabling the establishment of rich structure-delivery relationships. Subsequently, I will illustrate how related synthetic strategies informed the total synthesis of novel small-molecule agents aimed at modulating viral latency in HIV. Together, these studies highlight how synthetic chemistry can interface with biology and medicine to address complex translational challenges. 

Throughout this talk, I will emphasize how problem-oriented thinking shapes my approach to research and motivates my independent program, which seeks to develop catalytic and synthetic platforms that bridge fundamental mechanism with real-world application. The heart of modernity beats through an understanding of molecular science – this will always reign true. But by viewing chemistry from the perspective of the problem, rather than the method, we can broaden the impact of molecular science and train the next generation of thought leaders to apply chemical rationale to the most pressing challenges of our time.

References:

(1) Wender, P. A.; Verma, V. A.; Paxton, T. J.; Pillow, T. H. Function-Oriented Synthesis, Step Economy, and Drug Design. Accounts of Chemical Research, 2007, 41, 40–49. 

(2) Cook, A.; St. Onge, P.; Newman, S. G. Deoxygenative Suzuki–Miyaura Arylation of Tertiary Alcohols through Silyl Ethers. Nature Synthesis, 2023, 2, 663–669.

(3) Cook, A.; Kassymbek, A.; Vaezghaemi, A.; Barbery, C.; Newman, S. G. An S_N1-Approach to Cross-Coupling: Deoxygenative Arylation Facilitated by the β-Silicon Effect. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024, 146, 19929–19938.