James L. Leighton

James L. Leighton is a Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. His research focuses on the development of asymmetric synthetic methods and their application to complex natural products and materials science. Notable programs include scalable syntheses of bioactive polyketides for anticancer drug design and studies on silane electrical conductance using single-molecule techniques. He collaborates with the Nuckolls and Venkataraman groups to explore ring-strain effects in silanes. His work bridges organic synthesis with medicinal chemistry and nanotechnology, emphasizing practical applications in drug development and electronic materials.

Research interests include synthetic method innovation, polyketide natural products, antibody-drug conjugates, and the electrical properties of strained silanes. Key contributions include the design of linker-equipped analogs of spongistatin and mechanistic insights into silicon bond rupture in molecular junctions.