Steven Bloom

Steven Bloom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. His research focuses on developing innovative photoredox catalysis methods for peptide and protein-based therapeutics, including peptibodies, bispecific antibodies, and drug conjugates for targeted therapies. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral work at Princeton University under David MacMillan. Bloom’s expertise spans fluorination chemistry, molecular editing, and biocatalytic strategies.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University (2015)
  • B.S., Chemistry & Biochemistry, McDaniel College (2010)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Princeton University (2015–2018)

His research interests include leveraging light-driven reactions to streamline drug synthesis and molecular editing, particularly in biologics. Recent work highlights decarboxylative alkylation for protein bioconjugation and site-selective fluorination strategies. Bloom has secured NIH funding and prestigious fellowships, including the Bristol Myers Squibb Postdoctoral Fellowship and the 2021 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award.

Key Contributions:

• Development of photoredox-catalyzed peptide/protein conjugation methods
• Pioneering aliphatic fluorination techniques for drug design
• Iron-catalyzed and polycomponent fluorination systems

Labs & Teams: The Bloom Group at the University of Kansas, housed in the Interdisciplinary Science Building, collaborates on interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of synthetic chemistry and biotechnology. Current lab members include Pei-Hsuën Chen, Farjana Afroj, and Allen Alonso Rodriguez Ugalde.