IISER MOHALI

Abstract: Proteins as naturally occurring molecular platforms and their potential use as biocompatible functional materials have been attracting much attention of variety of scientists. I will highlight the recent development of novel bioconjugation reactions that target native amino acids, allowing for the expansion of protein functions without protein engineering. Specifically, our research focusing on less-reactive, hydrophobic amino acids aims to improve modification homogeneity and increase chemical possibilities. The study emphasizes the use of single-electron transfer (SET) activation strategies in developing new chemical transformations applicable to proteins. The active species generated by SET exhibit high reactivity, functional group tolerance, and compatibility with aqueous systems.

Biosketch: Kounosuke Oisaki was born in 1980 in Tokushima, Japan, and received his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) in 2008 under the direction of Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki. Then, he moved to the University of California-Los Angeles, USA, for postdoctoral studies with Professor Omar M. Yaghi. In 2010, he returned to Japan and joined Professor Motomu Kanai's group at UTokyo as an assistant professor, then promoted as a lecturer in 2016. He joined National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) since 2022 as a senior researcher, then promoted to a team leader since 2023. He has been granted several academic awards, including The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Young Scientists (2018), Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award of Encouragement (2018), Chemist Award BCA (2018), Thieme Chemistry Journals Award (2019), Best Paper Award in SYNTHESIS (2020). His current research interest is the development of new synthetic organic chemistry, with a focus on organoradical-based chemoselective reagents/catalysis for C(sp3)-H functionalizations and peptide/protein modifications.