Caltech’S Center for Inclusion and Diversity continues its Diverse Minds Seminar Series with Dr. Hans Renata, Associate Professor at Rice University, who will discuss “Combining Synthetic Chemistry and Biology for Streamlining Access to Complex Molecules” on Friday, Jan. 13, in a virtual event from 2 to 3 p.m.
Dr. Renata will give a talk about his research, followed by a personal talk focusing on his journey into science.
Enzymes, by virtue of their unrivaled selectivity profiles, possess remarkable potential to address unsolved challenges in chemical synthesis. The realization of this potential, however, has only recently gained traction. Recent advances in enzyme engineering and genome mining have provided a powerful platform for identifying and optimizing enzymatic transformations for synthetic applications and allowed us to begin formulating novel synthetic strategies and disconnections.
This talk will describe recent efforts in developing a new design language in chemical synthesis that centers on the incorporation of biocatalytic approaches in contemporary synthetic logic.
Case studies will focus on the use of this platform in the chemoenzymatic syntheses of complex natural products and also highlight how this platform could serve as a starting point to enable further biological and medicinal chemistry discoveries.
Born in Surabaya, Indonesia, Hans Renata completed his high school education in Singapore and moved to the US and received his B.A. degree from Columbia University in 2008, conducting research under the tutelage of Professor Tristan H. Lambert. He earned his Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute in 2013 under the guidance of Professor Phil S. Baran. In his graduate thesis, Renata completed the synthesis of a polyhydroxylated cardiac glycoside, ouabagenin, and developed a range of corticosteroid analogues bearing hydroxylation at the C19 position.
In 2013, Renata began his postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Professor Frances H. Arnold at Caltech.
This seminar is hosted by the Donna and Benjamin M Rosen Bioengineering Center at Caltech. Attendance is free of charge.
For more information, contact Ngozi Eze by email at ngozi@caltech.edu or visit https://inclusive.caltech.edu/events/diverse-minds-seminar-series-dr-hans-renata.
