Patrick Guiry

Professor Patrick Guiry is a Full Professor of Synthetic Organic Chemistry at University College Dublin (UCD), where he serves as Director of the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology and Head of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He has been with UCD since 1993, progressing from lecturer to Senior Lecturer (2002), Associate Professor (2003), and Full Professor (2006). Guiry also served as Chief Executive of the Conway Institute at UCD from 2004-2005.

His educational background includes a B.Sc. (1986) and Ph.D. (1990) from University College Dublin, supervised by Dervilla Donnelly and Sir Derek Barton. Following his doctorate, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with John Brown FRS at the University of Oxford (1990-1993) and served as a College lecturer at Wadham College Oxford (1992-1993) and St. Hugh's College Oxford.

Professor Guiry's research focuses on synthetic organic chemistry, particularly asymmetric catalysis, stereoselective synthesis, and medicinal chemistry. His work centers on developing new chiral ligands for homogeneous metal-catalyzed transformations and applying these methods to the total synthesis of biologically interesting compounds. His group has developed a range of bidentate and tridentate ligands that have been successfully applied to asymmetric transformations including the Heck reaction, allylic substitutions, transfer hydrogenation, and rhodium-catalyzed hydroboration. A significant portion of his research involves the synthesis of lipoxin analogues with enhanced metabolic stability for potential therapeutic applications, particularly as anti-inflammatory agents.

Recent publications demonstrate his group's continued innovation in asymmetric synthesis methodologies, with particular emphasis on creating challenging quaternary stereocenters through decarboxylative asymmetric allylic alkylation, developing novel chiral ligands like the UCD-Imphanol series for zinc-catalyzed cycloadditions, and advancing the synthesis of metabolically stable lipoxin analogues with demonstrated biological activity in inflammation resolution.

• Boyle-Higgins Medal of the Institute of Chemistry in Ireland (2014)
• Elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy (2013)
• IRC/Government of Ireland Post Doc Fellowship (2017-2020)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Fellow of the Institute of Chemistry in Ireland

Professor Guiry has successfully supervised numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. His group has secured substantial funding from Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Research Council, and other sources to support research in asymmetric catalysis and medicinal chemistry. Current major projects include the BEACON Partnership with the University of Nottingham (2019-2027) focused on sustainable chemistry approaches.

He leads an active research laboratory within the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology at UCD, which houses state-of-the-art facilities for organic synthesis, characterization, and biological testing. The group maintains extensive collaborations with medicinal chemists, biologists, and clinicians to translate synthetic methodologies into biologically active compounds with therapeutic potential, particularly in the area of inflammation resolution and anti-microbial applications.