Elias J. Corey
Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Research in the Corey group spans a number of areas of experimental organic and bioorganic chemistry and also includes a program on the application of computers to organic problems. The total synthesis of a wide range of complex structures is the central research activity. Many of these molecules are rare substances, available in only trace quantities from natural sources. Investigations directed toward new methods and strategies for the construction of complex molecules are an important part of the group effort. There is a growing emphasis on the rational development of sophisticated enzyme-like catalysts (molecular robots) for synthetic organic reactions.
In the bioorganic area a number of collaborative studies are underway involving diverse disease states including arthritis, asthma, autoimmune, cardiovascular disease, and AIDS, and have as a common denominator the understanding of disease mechanisms at the molecular level. Work in this area is also concerned with the design and synthesis of new, totally artificial biologically active molecules and with mechanisms of biosynthesis and immunochemical regulation.
Computer research involves the development of general problem-solving programs for organic syntheses and computer graphics.
Selected Publications1. "The Logic of Chemical Synthesis: Multistep Synthesis of Complex Carbogenic Molecules (Nobel Lecture)," E.J. Corey, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 30, 455 (1991).
2. "The Origin of Greater Than 200 : 1 Enantioselectivity in a Catalytic Diels-Alder Reaction as Revealed by Physical and Chemical Studies," E.J. Corey, T.-P. Loh, T.D. Roper, M.D. Azimioara, and M.C. Noe, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 8290 (1992).
3. "Total Synthesis of Lactacystin," E.J. Corey and G.A. Reichard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 10677 (1992).
4. "Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Miroestrol," E.J. Corey and L.I. Wu, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 9327 (1993).
5. "Rigid and Highly Enantioselective Catalyst for the Dihydroxylation of Olefins Using Osmium Tetraoxide Clarifies the Origin of Enantiospecificity," E.J. Corey and M.C. Noe, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 12579 (1993).
6. "Molecular cloning, characterization, and overexpression of ERG7, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding lanosterol synthase," E.J. Corey, S.P.T. Matsuda, and B. Bartel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 2211 (1994).
