Event

Vy M. Dong
University of California, Irvine
 
Choose Your Own Adventure in Metal-Hydride Catalysis 
Metal hydrides promote a wide-range of organic transformations that include both C-C bond making and C-C bond breaking processes. This lecture will highlight the development of Rh and Co-catalysts for use in enantioselective hydrofunctionalizations (e.g., hydroacylation, hydroamination, hydrothiolation, and/or hydrogenation). In addition, a unique transfer hydroformylation will be described that allows conversion of aldehydes/alcohols to olefins. The presentation emphasizes mechanistic studies that showcase the role of counter-ions for controlling selectivities. Lastly, we disclose applications of these catalysts for transforming feedstocks into more complex building blocks and natural products. 

Bio
Vy was born in Big Spring, Texas and grew up in Anaheim, California. She graduated magna cum laude from UC Irvine where she majored in chemistry and completed an honor's project with Larry Overman on the Bignelli condensation. After graduation, she began graduate studies at UC Berkeley with David MacMillan (2021 Nobel Laureate), as one of his first graduate students. She moved with the MacMillan Group to Caltech to complete her doctoral studies. Her Ph.D. thesis featured variants of the zwitterionic-Claisen rearrangement and a total synthesis of erythronolide B. As an NIH postdoctoral fellow, Vy pursued training in both organometallic and supramolecular chemistry, with Professors Robert Bergman and Kenneth Raymond at Berkeley.   She began her independent academic career at the University of Toronto, where she was promoted with tenure and named the Adrian Brook Professor. After six years in Canada, Vy returned to the United States. At UC Irvine, Professor Dong is currently a Chancellor’s Professor, a title that recognizes academic merit and achievements. Outside the University, she has been recognized by the ACS EJ Corey Award, ACS Cope Scholar Award, and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. Professor Dong teaches introductory organic chemistry (chem 51A) and advanced synthesis (chem 160) courses. She serves as an associate editor for Organic Syntheses and RSC’s Chemical Society Reviews. 

Elizabeth Jurica 
Bristol-Myers Squibb
 
One Route Does Not Fit All:  Tailored Synthetic Strategies Enable the Discovery of New Therapies for Diabetes
The commercial market for type 2 diabetes treatments centered around GLP-1 has witnessed a remarkable expansion in recent years, yet there remains a significant drive to develop oral therapies targeting GLP-1.  GPR40 full agonists have a dual mechanism of action, lowering blood glucose levels by increasing both insulin and GLP-1 secretion.  The discovery chemistry route to the unique GPR40 pyrrolidine agonist chemotype developed at BMS was conducive to analog synthesis, allowing for separate exploration of each part of the molecule. By applying medicinal chemistry concepts to increase the polarity and saturation, an improved compound was identified, eliminating known off-target liabilities.  To scale up the compound for preclinical studies, a new route was designed using a dynamic kinetic resolution and stereoselective aza-Michael reaction to set the stereocenters, with further optimizations applied from the discovery scaleup and process chemistry groups.

Bio
Elizabeth Jurica is a Senior Principal Scientist with fifteen years of experience at Bristol Myers Squibb.  She graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and then completed a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry with Professor Gary Molander at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on natural product total synthesis and trifluoroborate chemistry.  At BMS, Dr. Jurica has worked in both the metabolic and fibrotic disease therapeutic areas.  Most recently, she transitioned to the chemotype discovery and optimization group within discovery chemistry, working to prosecute high throughput screening campaigns and identify progressible chemotypes across all therapeutic areas.  In addition to research, she is the lead for the BMS Women in Discovery Chemistry group, is involved with university recruiting, and has served as a site safety coordinator.  Dr. Jurica also has served on the ACS Women Chemists Committee Merck Award review panel.  Outside of work, Dr. Jurica enjoys baking cookies with her two sons, skiing, anything Peloton bike and fitness related, and Hallmark Christmas movies.