Department of Chemistry
Peter O'Brien's Biography
Peter O'Brien studied for a degree and PhD at the University of Cambridge. He carried out a PhD supervised by Stuart Warren on chiral phosphine oxides. After the award of his PhD in 1995, he moved to the University of York as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow, hosted in the laboratory of Professor R. J. K. Taylor. In March 1996, he was appointed as a lecturer in organic chemistry at The University of York. In 1999, he was awarded one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Meldola medals and prizes and in 2000, a GlaxoWellcome award for innovative organic chemistry. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer (2002), Reader (2005) and Professor (2007). He was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Organic Stereochemistry Award in 2013 and a Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Award for 2014-15.
The O’Brien group’s research focuses on contemporary organic synthesis, with a particular interest in asymmetric synthesis. Current research projects are focused in three areas:
- Organolithium Methodology for the Synthesis of Nitrogen Heterocycles
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Screening of 3-D Fragments
- Synthetic Tools for Chemical Biology
Peter O'Brien receives the Meldola Medal from Tony Ledwith, President of the RSC
