Stacey Brenner-Moyer

Stacey Brenner-Moyer serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University, where her research bridges synthetic organic chemistry, catalysis, and medicinal chemistry. Her work focuses on developing innovative organocatalytic methods with applications in drug synthesis and natural product development.

Education

• Ph.D., Stanford University (2005)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge (2005-2006)

Research Interests

Dr. Brenner-Moyer's research program centers on catalytic asymmetric reaction development using organocatalysis as the primary methodology. Her group pioneers transformations including cascade reactions, kinetic resolutions, sigmatropic rearrangements, and organo-metal co-catalyzed systems. These methods are strategically applied to natural product synthesis (e.g., (S)-(+)-bakuchiol and (S)-vigabatrin) and the creation of fluorinated bioactive analogues for medicinal applications. The lab maintains active collaborations with synthetic chemists, computational researchers, and biologists to advance reaction design and biological evaluation.

Publication Trends

Recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward increasingly complex organocatalytic systems with pharmaceutical relevance, particularly in fluorination chemistry and rearrangement reactions. The 2024 Synfacts-highlighted [1,2]-Stevens rearrangement work exemplifies the group's focus on mechanistically novel transformations with direct applications in medicinal chemistry.

Scientific Recognition

• 2013 Alfred P. Sloan CUNY Junior Faculty Research Award in Science and Engineering
• 2012 NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award

Mentorship and Collaborations

Dr. Brenner-Moyer actively mentors doctoral students including Ana (2024 Frank Torre and Allen Taylor award recipient for outstanding thesis), Fernanda (2025 Dean's Teaching Award winner), and current researchers Shruti, Kelvin, and Melanie. Her grant portfolio includes significant NSF support, with collaborative projects spanning synthetic methodology development and biological applications.

Research Environment

The Brenner Lab operates as a dynamic synthetic organic chemistry research group within Rutgers' Chemistry Department, currently comprising multiple Ph.D. students including newest member Anushka. The lab is recognized for its rigorous mechanistic approach to multi-step catalytic transformations and growing contributions to fluorinated compound synthesis for drug discovery.