"Regio- and Stereocontrol with Anions and Radicals"

Abstract: Dienolates and their synthetic equivalents provide a versatile platform for regioselective functionalization reactions owing to their ambident reactivity, although factors influencing site selective vary widely. We have extensively explored radical additions to neutral polarized dienes as a potential solution to the problem of regiocontrolled γ-functionalization of cyclic ketones and related congeners. Integral to these studies are the development of transition metal catalysts capable of generating organic radicals under mild reaction conditions. In addition, we have also examined anionic dienolates as an unusual regiodivergent branch point for the synthesis of halogenated arenes and related derivatives from common, readily available precursors. Applications of each of these strategies in target-directed synthesis efforts have been explored.

Bio: Justin Mohr was born and raised in Anchorage, AK. He received his A. B. from Dartmouth College in 2003. During his time at Dartmouth, he conducted research aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanism of anesthesia as a Beckman Scholar in the laboratory of Prof. Gordon Gribble. Justin pursued graduate research with Prof. Brian Stoltz at the California Institute of Technology where he developed enantioselective palladium-catalyzed enolate reactions. In 2009, Justin joined Prof. Gregory Fu's laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow. While at MIT, Justin explored the synthesis and use of aza-b-lactams as selective inhibitors of serine hydrolase enzymes in collaboration with Prof. Benjamin Cravatt's laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute. In 2012 Justin joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he is currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry. He received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2017 supporting his research in the area of new reaction methodology, organometallic chemistry, and the synthesis of bioactive molecules.