Sarah E. Reisman - From Nature to the Pharmacy: The Chemistry Behind Modern Medicines

The origins of many modern drugs are small, organic molecules (known as "natural products"), compounds that are isolated from bacteria, fungi, plants and other natural sources. Although some natural products are isolated and used without modification – think penicillin! – others require careful reengineering in order to be suitable medicines. Key to this endeavor is organic chemistry, and understanding how to build molecules atom by atom with precise positional and spatial control. This lecture will describe our research on the chemistry of natural products, building from an atomistic description of molecular structure to a description of chemical discovery and synthesis.

Presented by: Caltech Committee on Institute Programs