Professor Yoshito Kishi

Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, Harvard University, U.S.A.

Professor Kishi has been engaged in a wide range of research on complex natural products with significant biological activities. He pioneered the area of acyclic stereocontrol, completed the total synthesis of numerous complex natural products including neurotoxins (palytoxin, tetrodotoxin, etc.), polyether antibiotics (monensin, lasalocid A, etc.) and antitumor natural products (halichondrins, mitomycin, etc.), and advanced a new concept for stereochemistry assignment of complex organic molecules. Notably, his research efforts on the halichondrin class of marine natural products paved the way for the successful creation of Eisai’s anticancer drug Halaven (Eribulin mesylate).

Professor David W. MacMillan

Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, U.S.A.

Professor MacMillan has been a pioneer in both the areas of organocatalysis and photoredox catalysis. Within organocatalysis he invented the area of iminium catalysis and made significant contributions to hydrogen-bonding catalysis, including the development of the MacMillan organocatalysts. He has also been a leader in bringing the field of photoredox catalysis to synthetic organic chemistry. This new area already has widespread applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

Professor Richmond Sarpong

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.

Contributions: Development of strategies and methods for the synthesis of complex molecules, including natural products, by employing chemical network analysis as well as C-H and C-C bond functionalizations.

Professor Shunsuke Chiba

Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Contributions: Exploration of new reactivity of main group metal hydrides for development of unique and unprecedented molecular transformations.

Professor Jeffrey W. Bode

Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Switzerland

Contributions: Enantioselective N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis, KAHA ligation the chemical synthesis of proteins, SnAP and SLAP reagents for the preparation of saturated N-heterocycles, potassium acyltrifluoroboronates (KATs) for amide and amine synthesis.

Professor Mamoru Tobisu

Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan

Contributions: The discovery and development of new catalytic reactions that can transform strong chemical bonds, such as carbon-carbon, carbon-oxygen and carbon-heteroatom bonds.