Overview
Welcome! The Frontier group pursues research in synthetic organic chemistry. For an official description, see Alison's department page. Projects are underway in the following areas:
- Cationic Cyclization strategies for Organic Synthesis
- Pericyclic Reactions
- Asymmetric Synthesis
- Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products
Our research group welcomes graduate students interested in synthetic organic chemistry. Research directions being pursued in the lab include the study of novel pericyclic reactions, cationic rearrangements and stereoselective cyclization cascades, and their application to complex molecule synthesis. We are interested in reactions that produce unusual, densely functionalized ring systems from simple precursors.
During these projects, students address questions related to asymmetric synthesis, diastereocontrol, and synthetic design. The primary motivation for developing new cyclization reactions is to enable the efficient assembly of polycyclic structures found in rare natural products. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the planning and execution of innovative synthetic strategies targeting bioactive molecules, an activity that inspires all the research we do in the laboratory.
Graduate students will gain experience in a wide array of synthetic techniques, including organometallic chemistry, and will learn to develop strategies for complex natural product synthesis.