The Laboratory for Custom Synthesis and Lead Development is supported by four MIDD members, which are faculty members of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Each investigator supports the Laboratory with a distinctive synthesis expertise and laboratory setup.

Dr. Peng’s expertise in organic synthesis includes nucleic acid and nucleotide chemistry. Improved synthesis routes have been developed to generate these complex molecules with functional groups to enable click-chemistry and fluorescent labeling. The group has also great knowledge to generate boronic acid and esters. Transition metal-catalyzed and enantioselective reactions are performed frequently in the laboratories of Dr. Hossain. Outstanding methods to generate compounds with quaternary carbon center have been developed and can be performed with excellent stereocontrol. The laboratory of Dr. Cook support large scale synthesis of biological active compounds and the synthesis of complex natural products usually produced with many synthetic steps and several stereochemistry centers. Dr. Arnold’s expertise is the generation of libraries of compounds that enable lead compound optimization using specialized laboratory equipment. The group is also supporting the synthesis of drug metabolites.