Research

Research Priorities: Chemical synthesis, chemical biology, synthetic biology, synthesis of organic and natural products with pharmacological substances

Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou is an American chemist who focuses on total synthesis of active substances and on methodology development. He rose to international prominence by synthesising many complex, naturally occurring molecules. He received particular attention for the synthesis of the highly complex molecule Taxol, which acts against various types of cancer.

Many natural substances are important sources for medications such as anti-tumour medications and antibiotics. Therefore, much research and development is currently focused on creating these substances in the laboratory. At the same time, the complex molecular structures pose a major challenge to the researchers. Using innovative synthesis technologies, Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou succeeded in creating almost 200 naturally-occurring molecules and thousands of analogues in the laboratory. The achievement is all the more impressive as this includes almost all important classes of bioactive molecules, irrespective of whether they are classified according to structure or activity. His work constitutes a paradigm shift in organic synthesis and has paved the way for the transition from foundational to translational research. The methods he helped to develop not only allow for the structures of natural products to be confirmed, but also for the total synthesis of natural substances. This allowed Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou to be the first to synthesise Taxol, a clinically implemented anti-tumour agent.

Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou is the publisher of many academic journals and has authored over 800 publications as well as books including the world-famous “Classics in Total Synthesis” (Volumes I through III).

Career

• since 2013 Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Chemistry, BioScience Research Collaborative, Rice University, Houston, USA
• 2012-2014 Visiting Professor, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
• 2003-2009 Founder, Chemical Synthesis Laboratory, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
• 2003-2009 Director, Chemical Synthesis Laboratory, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
• since 1996 Aline W. and L. S. Skaggs Professor for Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA
• since 1989 Darlene Shiley Professor for Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA
• 1989 Founder and Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA
• 1989 Professor of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
• 1976-1989 Professor of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
• 1973-1976 Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
• 1972-1973 Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University, New York City, USA
• 1972 PhD in Chemistry, University College London, London, UK
• 1996 Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, Bedford College, London, UK

Functions

• 1989-2012 Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA

Honours and Memberships

• 2021 Robert Koch Gold Medal, Robert Koch Foundation, Berlin, Germany
• 2016 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, Wolf Foundation, Herzlia Pituach, Israel
• since 2013 Foreign Member, Royal Society, UK
• since 2011 Member, American Philosophical Society, USA
• since 2011 Honorary Member, Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, Singapore
• 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, USA
• since 2009 Honorary Member, Israel Chemical Society, Israel
• since 2009 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
• 2008 August Wilhelm von Hofmann Commemorative Coin, German Chemical Society, Germany
• since 2007 Honorary Member, Indian Academy of Sciences, India
• 2005 Arthur C. Cope Award, American Chemical Society (ACS), USA
• 2002 Tetrahedron Prize, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 2001 Ernst Schering Prize, Schering Foundation, Berlin, Germany
• since 2001 Member, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
• 2000 Paul Karrer Gold Medal, Paul Karrer Lecture Foundation, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1999 Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), USA
• 1996 Honorary Member, Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Japan
• 1996 Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA
• 1996 Inhoffen Medal, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
• 1996 Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists, Philadelphia, USA
• 1996 Ernest Guenther Award in Chemistry of Natural Products, ACS, USA
• 1996 William H. Nichols Medal, ACS, USA
• 1996 Linus Pauling Medal, Puget Sound, Oregon, and Portland Sections, ACS, USA
• 1993 Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, ACS, USA
• since 1993 Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA
• 1987-1988 US Senior Scientist Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany
• 1988 Award, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan
• since 1987 Member, New York Academy of Sciences, New York University, New York City, USA
• 1884 Guggenheim Scholarship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York City, USA
• 1979-1983 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York City, USA
• Member, ACS, USA
• Member, Chemical Society London, London, UK
• Member, German Chemical Society, Germany
• Member, Japanese Chemical Society, Japan