Scott Nelson

Scott Nelson is a Professor and Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. His research develops innovative catalytic methods for stereoselective bond formation, enabling efficient synthesis of therapeutically relevant natural products and complex molecular architectures.

Research focuses on:

• Design of asymmetric catalytic processes for carbon-carbon bond formation
• Development of rearrangement reactions and cycloadditions for complex heterocycles
• Total synthesis of bioactive natural products including apoptolidin and pironetin
• Application of parallel synthesis strategies to peptide mimetics
• Biological evaluation of synthetic compounds in cancer models

His group combines synthetic organic chemistry, catalysis development, and chemical biology to address challenges in medicinal chemistry. Recent work has advanced gold-catalyzed annulations and palladium-mediated Claisen rearrangements for quaternary stereocenter construction.

Awards include the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Award (2001), Eli Lilly Award (2002), and Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award (2002).