New Strategies for the Synthesis and Functionalization of Strained Rings
Sep 9, 2025
2:30PM to 3:30PM
Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/09/2025
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Categories
Prof. Sophie Rousseaux
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Cyclopropane and cyclobutane rings are found in numerous biologically active molecules such as natural products, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Over the last few years, my group has been investigating the functionalization of cyclopropane derivatives, through ring-opening reactions to generate metal homoenolates or in Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. In this presentation, I will highlight our efforts in this area, including new ventures in photocatalysis to access functionalized cyclopropanes.
Speaker bio:
Sophie was born in Saskatoon, Canada, but moved to Ottawa as a child. She received a B.Sc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences – Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, Canada, in 2007. As an undergraduate student, she worked with Prof. Keith Fagnou on the direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides and decarboxylative ketone aldol reactions. She remained in the Fagnou group for the start of her graduate studies, working on Pd-catalyzed aliphatic C-H bond functionalization reactions. In 2010, she moved to Cambridge, USA, to complete her graduate research with Prof. Stephen L. Buchwald at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After obtaining her PhD from the University of Ottawa in 2012, Sophie was a visiting scientist for 5 months at the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, working with Prof. Jean-Marc Campagne and Dr. Emmanuel Vrancken. She then moved to the University of Oxford to work with Prof. Harry L. Anderson on the self-assembly of porphyrin nanorings as an NSERC postdoctoral fellow and Glasstone Research Fellow. During her time at Oxford, Sophie was also a Junior Research Fellow at St John’s College.
In July 2015, Sophie returned to Canada to join the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor. She was promoted to an Associate Professor in 2022. Her group’s research interests include organic synthesis, catalysis, organometallic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry.
In-Person: ABB 271
Online: https://mcmaster.zoom.us/j/98623975532
Meeting ID: 986 2397 5532
Passcode: 982551