Joseph Derosa, Ph.D.
Doctoral Thesis: Nickel-Catalyzed 1,2-Difunctionalization of Alkenes via Directed Conjunctive Cross-Coupling
Undergraduate Institution: The City College of New York
Noteworthy Publications: Nickel-catalyzed beta,gamma-Dicarbofunctionalization of Alkenyl Carbonyl Compounds via Conjunctive Cross-coupling," Journal of the American Chemical Society (2017); "Nickel-Catalyzed 1,2-Diarylation of Simple Alkenyl Amides," Journal of the American Chemical Society (2018); "Directed Nickel-Catalyzed 1,2-Dialkylation of Alkenyl Carbonyl Compounds," Chemical Science (2018); "Nickel-Catalyzed 1,2-Diarylation of Alkenyl Carboxylates: A Gateway to 1,2,3-Trifunctionalized Building Blocks," Angewandte Chemie (2020)
Honors & Awards: Turner B. and Lesly Shelton Award (2018); National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2017)
Favorite Aspects of Graduate Studies: "One of the most unique and inspiring qualities of graduate studies at Scripps is the collaborative effort between labs and researchers within. I owe all of my success to the willingness of faculty members, post-docs, and fellow students to discuss chemistry and motivate me to think critically while applying my research in practical ways. Most of all, I was taught to think deeply and remain persistent to rise above worthy challenges."
Next Steps: I am currently working in the lab of Professor Jonas C. Peters at Caltech as a postdoctoral fellow and have received an Arnold O. Beckman fellowship to support my studies. I aspire to lead my own research group in the future, merging the practical and translational organic chemistry knowledge developed during my PhD at Scripps with fundamental inorganic chemistry learned at Caltech to develop unique methods that benefit both drug discovery and push the boundaries of transition metal catalysis on a fundamental level."
Be sure to join us at 10 a.m. PDT on Friday, July 31 for our Virtual Commencement Ceremony! Derosa's advisor and mentor, Prof. Keary M. Engle, will deliver a few words (as will Derosa) about his graduate experience, and viewers can learn about our 43 other 2020 graduates, who are now setting out to build careers that will impact the future of biomedical research.
