During his PhD studies, Anders Engsted Kiib researched the chemical reactivity and biological activity of small molecules containing covalently reactive electrophilic functional groups. Such covalently reactive groups (CRGs) have a variety of applications within the fields of chemical biology and drug discovery, ranging from incorporation in chemical tools used to study biological systems to the development of targeted covalent inhibitors. Specifically, Anders Engsted Kiib’s research was focused on the biological evaluation of α-lactams, a type of electrophilic group previously unstudied in biological systems, as well as on characterising the reactivity and activity of the small molecule natural product cyclohelminthol II. Both lines of study revealed biological relevance and potential for use as CRGs of the studied compounds, thus adding to the toolbox of covalent chemical biology.

The PhD study was completed at The Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Thursday, October 23rd at 13:00
Place: Building 1110, room 223, Lecture Theatre, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University
Title of PhD thesis: Novel Electrophiles for Covalent Chemical Biology
Contact information: Anders Engsted Kiib, e-mail: aek@chem.au.dk, tel.: +45 23460480
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Matthias Gehringer, Institut für Biomedical Engineering (IBE) Medizinische Fakultät, University of Tübingen, Germany
Associate Professor Luca Laraia, Department of Chemistry, DTU, Denmark
Associate Professor Marianne Glasius (chair), Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Professor Thomas Bjørnskov Poulsen, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: N/A
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus Cf