Professor Ryan Shenvi

Departmental Seminar
Professor Ryan Shenvi
Department of Chemistry
The Scripps Research Institute
Host: Professor Nick Race

Abstract

Synthesis of CNS-active plant metabolites

Natural products (NPs) populate areas of chemical space that are remote from commercial compounds and thus challenging to access, modify and study. Our group develops new chemistry to accelerate access to nodes in NP space. These syntheses can be leveraged to assign mechanism of action, remove structural liabilities and perturb target selectivity. Recently, we developed new cross-coupling methods to access two alkaloids from Galbulimima and used this synthetic platform to discover their biological targets. We also developed short synthetic routes to picrotoxinin (PXN) and a more complex analog (5MePXN) that simplifies synthetic access, stabilizes the scaffold and allows diversification to probe selectivity among ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs). 

Shenvi abstract image

Research

Dr. Shenvi develops chemistry to solve broad problems in complex molecule synthesis, and answers fundamental questions of organic chemistry, with an emphasis on natural products and the invention of new chemical methods. The Shenvi lab has published methods to synthesize important classes of CNS-active metabolites including potent nAChR inhibitors and Illicium terpenes, sometimes called ‘neurotrophic terpenes.’ The lab proposed that these latter metabolites enhance neurite outgrowth through binding to the CysLoop family of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels–probably GABAa receptors. Our chemistry allows us to match the combinatorial nature of these receptors with a combinatorial assembly of terpenes.

Professor Ryan Shenvi

Professor, The Scripps Research Institute, 2019-present
Associate Professor, The Scripps Research Institute, 2014-2019
Assistant Professor, The Scripps Research Institute, 2010-2014 
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University (E.J. Corey), 2008-2010
Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute (P.S. Baran), 2003-2008
B.S., Pennsylvania State University (R.L. Funk), 1999-2003

Start date
Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, 9:45 a.m.
End date
Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, 11 a.m.
Location

This seminar will be presented in person and live-streamed.  This seminar will not be recorded for later viewing.
331 Smith Hall
Zoom Link

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