Kaibo Feng
Assistant Professor
Research Focus
The Feng group is dedicated to addressing enduring synthetic challenges and developing transformative reactions with the aid of transition-metal and organocatalysts. With these new methods, our goal is to readily derivatize natural products and biologically active small molecules at late stages with controllable selectivities. At the heart of our research interests is the innovation of strategies to introduce new functional groups, facilitating rapid access to derivatives of medicinally interesting compounds. Members of the Feng group will develop expertise in areas including organic synthesis, asymmetric catalysis, and organometallic chemistry.
Education and Training
2020–2024: Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (lab of Stephen L. Buchwald)
2013–2020: Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapaign (lab of M. Christina White)
2009–2013: B.S. Chemistry, Nanjing University
Selected Awards
ACS P3 Medal for Graduate Research Excellence (2022)
IUPAC-Solvay International Award for Young Chemists (2021)
PhD Prize Finalist (2020)
Selected Publications
Feng, K.†; Raguram, E. R.†; Howard, J. R.; Peters, E.; Liu, C.; Sigman, M. S.*; Buchwald, S. L.* Development of a deactivation-resistant dialkylbiarylphosphine ligand for Pd-catalyzed arylation of secondary amines. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 26609.
Reichert, E. C.†; Feng, K.†; Sather, A. C.; Buchwald, S. L.* Pd-catalyzed amination of base-sensitive five-membered heteroaryl halides with aliphatic amines. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 3323. Feng, K.†; Quevedo, R. E.†; Kohrt, J. T.; Oderinde, M.; Reilly, U.; White, M. C.* Late-stage oxidative C(sp3)–H methylation. Nature 2020, 580, 621.