Organic chemistry professor receives NIH grant
Dr. Jim Devery, Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry.
Dr. Jim Devery, Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for $404,000 to use over the next three years. The award will support research in the mechanistic characterization of iron(III)-catalyzed carbonyl-olefin metathesis—a new approach for the construction of cycloalkenes. These studies will enhance the success of reactions designed by synthetic chemists in the construction of medicinally important molecules. The grant will allow the Devery research group to study the implications of the carbonyl-olefin metathesis reaction, which is a new method for the production of valuable chemicals in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries.
"Research in my lab focuses on the kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of mechanisms, allowing us to not only gain insight into their catalytic cycles, but determine the controlling factors that direct reactivity." said Dr. Devery.
Receiving this grant is a tremendous achievement for Dr. Devery, who began his professorship at Loyola in July 2015. He earned his PhD in chemistry from Lehigh University in 2013. After earning his degree, he pursued research as a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University and the University of Michigan.
Dr. Devery currently works alongside a team of 8 people, one graduate student and seven undergraduates. His students utilize organic, organometallic, analytical, and physical chemistry to observe reaction mechanisms. Funding for their work will support training in not only organic and organometallic synthesis, but separation and characterization of complex systems using chromatography and spectroscopy.
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Click here to learn more of Dr. Devery's research and his group.