Current Position:
College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, Harold and Betty Miller Professor of Organic Chemistry
Institution:
The Ohio State University
Discipline:
Organic Chemistry
Recognized for:
Harnessing reaction intermediates – carbenes and free radicals – to discover faster, more effective, and previously unknown chemical mechanisms for synthesizing pharmaceuticals
Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Catalysis, synthesis, radicals, organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry
Previous Positions:
BS, Boston College (Advisor: Scott J. Miller)
PhD, Princeton University (Advisor: David W.C. MacMillan)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (Advisor: F. Dean Toste)
Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University
Associate Professor with Tenure, The Ohio State University
Research Summary:
A major bottleneck in drug discovery and manufacturing is the rate at which scientists can synthesize organic molecules. David Nagib, PhD, is introducing never-before-seen synthetic strategies that can assemble the necessary chemical motifs for medicinal chemistry much faster and more effectively than previous methods. By inventing techniques to generate highly reactive “intermediate” molecules, such as free radicals and carbenes, in mild environments, Nagib can use those intermediates to accelerate the complex molecular transformations required in drug manufacturing. Nagib’s work has already generated significant interest in the pharmaceutical industry and is paving the way to new drugs and more accessible treatments.
“Harnessing free radicals to invent new chemistry is my intellectual passion. Mentoring and inspiring students to make these discoveries is my true love. Nothing beats seeing that genuine joy when they have a great new result!”
Key Publications:
Zhang, L., Nagib, D.A., Carbonyl cross-metathesis via deoxygenative gem-di-metal catalysis. Nat. Chem. 16, 107–113 (2024).
Zhang, L, Demuynck, B., Paneque, A., Rutherford, J., Nagib, D.A., Carbene reactivity from alkyl and aryl aldehydes. Science 377, 649-654 (2022).
Nakafuku, K.M., Zhang, Z., Wappes, E.A., Stateman, L., Chen, A., Nagib, D.A., Enantioselective radical C–H amination for the synthesis of β-amino alcohols. Nat. Chem. 12, 697–704 (2020).
Wang, L., Lear, J., Rafferty, S., Fosu, S., Nagib, D.A., Ketyl radical reactivity via atom transfer catalysis. Science 362, 225-229 (2018).
Other Honors:
Brown Investigator Award, Brown Science Foundation, 2023
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society, 2021
Merck Outstanding Chemists of Color Award, 2021
Lilly Young Investigator Award, 2020
Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Foundation, 2019
JACS Young Investigator collection, 2018
NOBCChE Master Scientist Award, 2018
NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2017
NIH MIRA Outstanding Investigator Award, National Institutes of Health, 2016
ACS PRF New Investigator Award, American Chemical Society, 2015
In the Media:
Chemistry World – Iron salts catalyse the creation of carbenes for cyclopropanation
Chemistry World – Harnessing carbene reactivity with light
Phys.org - Chemists find new way of creating the building blocks of many drugs