Justin Du Bois

Justin Du Bois is the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry and Professor by courtesy of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford University. He earned his BS from UC Berkeley, PhD from Caltech, and postdoctoral training at MIT before joining Stanford in 1999. His research spans chemical synthesis, catalysis, and ion channel biology, with a focus on C–H bond functionalization and neurotoxin studies.

• Education:
  • BS, University of California, Berkeley (1992)
  • PhD, California Institute of Technology (1997)
  • Postdoc, MIT (1999)

The Du Bois Laboratory pioneers methods for C–H bond oxidation, enabling concise syntheses of complex natural products like saxitoxin and batrachotoxin. These tools are applied to studies of ion channel function in pain sensation, using chemical synthesis combined with molecular biology, electrophysiology, and imaging.

His group’s work connects to the NSF Center for Selective C–H Functionalization, Stanford Institute for Chemical Biology, and the Center for Molecular Analysis and Design. Collaborations with neurology, molecular physiology, and psychiatry labs highlight interdisciplinary impact.

Scientific Awards:

• Henry Dreyfus Professorship

Lab members engage in total synthesis, chemical biology, and methodology development, with emphasis on ion channel regulation by glial cells, protein turnover dynamics, and isoform-selective pharmacological tools.