Roman Dembinski

Roman Dembinski is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry within the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University. His office is located in room 225 of the Mathematics and Science Center, and he can be reached at (248) 370-2248 or dembinsk@oakland.edu.

Professor Dembinski's research program focuses on organic chemistry with applications in medicinal and bioinorganic chemistry. His primary work involves synthesizing analogs of natural products, particularly coordination complexes of nucleosides and nucleotides. By leveraging the diverse properties of metals (coordination numbers, geometry, and redox potentials), his lab creates modified biomolecules with potential biological applications. His group develops novel methodologies for synthesizing pharmaceutically active heterocycles, targeting compounds with antiviral, anticancer, and antisense properties, as well as bio-probes.

Professor Dembinski's publication record demonstrates consistent high-impact research spanning nucleoside analogues, organometallic chemistry, heterocyclic synthesis, and DNA charge transfer mechanisms. His recent work (2022-2024) centers on dicobalt hexacarbonyl nucleoside analogues and their biological evaluation, while earlier work established innovative synthetic methodologies including room-temperature zinc chloride-catalyzed furan synthesis and fluorous Mitsunobu reactions. His publications appear in top journals including ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Journal of Physical Chemistry, and European Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Professor Dembinski has received significant recognition for his work, with multiple publications listed among the most accessed articles in their respective journals. His 2004 review on Mitsunobu reaction advances became the most downloaded article in European Journal of Organic Chemistry that year, and his methodological papers have been featured in Synfacts and other chemistry news outlets.

As an educator, Professor Dembinski mentors graduate and undergraduate students in synthetic organic chemistry research with biological applications. His collaborative work spans multiple institutions, with frequent co-authorship with researchers like Kraig A. Wheeler and Béla Török, as well as international collaborators from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. His research bridges traditional organic synthesis with bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry approaches.