معرفی
Peter O'Brien is Professor of Chemistry at the University of York, leading research in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. His group develops novel methods for stereospecific Negishi/Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions and 3D fragment-based drug discovery. Collaborations with AstraZeneca, Diamond X-Chem, and Redbrick Molecular focus on COVID-19 therapeutics and building-block libraries. O'Brien employs high-throughput robotics for reaction optimization and mechanistic studies.
His work bridges fundamental organolithium chemistry with applications in synthesizing bioactive heterocycles (piperidines, pyrrolidines). The York 3D Fragment Library, featuring shape-diverse compounds, identified hits against SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Awards include the RSC Stereochemistry Award (2013) and YUSU Teacher of the Year (2019).
Selected honors:
- EPSRC/IAA grants for 3D building blocks commercialization
- Industrial Fellowships with AstraZeneca (2019-2022)
- Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Award (2015)
