Garg, Neil K.
| Website | Home URL |
| Division | Organic |
| Title |
Faculty Distinguished Professor Department Chair Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chairholder |
| Specialties | Chemical Biology Organic Chemistry Organic Synthesis Reaction Methodology Catalysis |
Contact Information
| Office | Molecular Sciences Building 5505C (310)- 825-1536 |
| Lab | Molecular Sciences Building 5234, 5235 (310) 794-9264 |
Short Biography
Professor Garg joined the faculty at UCLA in 2007. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and then to Full Professor in 2013. In 2020, he was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor. Garg is also the inaugural holder of the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Biography
Professor Garg received a B.S. in Chemistry from New York University where he did undergraduate research with Professor Marc Walters. During his undergraduate years, he spent several months in Strasbourg, France while conducting research with Professor Mir Wais Hosseini at Université Louis Pasteur as a NSF REU Fellow. Garg obtained his Ph.D. in 2005 from the California Institute of Technology under the direction of Professor Brian Stoltz. He then joined Professor Larry Overman’s research laboratory at the University of California, Irvine as an NIH Postdoctoral Scholar. Garg joined the faculty at UCLA in 2007. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and then to Full Professor in 2013. In 2020, he was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor.
Garg is the inaugural holder of the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has served as Vice Chair for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2012-2016) and currently serves as the Department Chair (2019-present). He also serves as Faculty-in-Residence in the UCLA undergraduate community. In the broader community, Garg is a popular speaker and consultant for teaching, scientific, and legal matters.
Research Interests
Research in the Garg Laboratory is directed toward the development of synthetic strategies and methods that enable the synthesis of complex bioactive molecules. See garg.chem.ucla.edu for more information.
Recent Honors & Awards
- UCLA Athletics Uncommon Bruin Honoree, 2020
- Edward Leete Award, 2019
- James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry, 2019
- US Defense Science Study Group (DSSG 2020-2021), 2019
- New York University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2019
- ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education, 2019
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018
- Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2018
- Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists, Finalist, 2018
- Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, 2018 (Watch Neil’s Public Lecture) (NY Times)
- Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, Finalist, 2017
- Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis, 2017
- Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award of Encouragement, 2016
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016
- Royal Society of Chemistry’s Merck Award, 2016
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 2016
- Thieme-IUPAC Prize, 2016
- Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award, 2016
- California’s US Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2015
- UCLA Herbert Newby McCoy Award, 2015
- Gold Shield Faculty Prize, 2015
- Novartis Chemistry Lectureship, 2015–2016
- Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, 2015
Publications
[ Selected Publications ]
- Nickel-Catalyzed Conversion of Amides to Carboxylic Acids. Rachel R. Knapp, Ana S. Bulger, and Neil K Garg. Org. Lett. 2020, 22, 2833–2837.
- Ni-Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling of Aliphatic Amides on the Benchtop. Milauni M. Mehta, Timothy B. Boit, Jacob E. Dander, and Neil K. Garg. Org. Lett. 2020, 22, 1–5.
- Total Synthesis as a Vehicle for Collaboration. Lucas A. Morrill, Robert B. Susick, Jason V. Chari, and Neil K. Garg. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 12423–12443.
- Chemoenzymatic Conversion of Amides to Enantioenriched Alcohols in Aqueous Medium. Jacob E. Dander, Maude Giroud, Sophie Racine, Oscar Alvizo, David Entwistle, and Neil K. Garg. Communications Chemistry, 2019, 2, 82.
- Cyclic Alkyne Approach to Heteroatom-Containing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Scaffolds. Evan R. Darzi, Joyann S. Barber, and Neil K. Garg. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 9419–9424.
- Cycloadditions of Oxacyclic Allenes and a Catalytic Asymmetric Entryway to Enantioenriched Cyclic Allenes. Michael M. Yamano, Rachel R. Knapp, Aurapat Ngamnithiporn, Melissa Ramirez, K. N. Houk, Brian M. Stoltz, and Neil K. Garg. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 5653–5657.
- Diels–Alder Cycloadditions of Strained Azacyclic Allenes. Joyann S. Barber, Michael M. Yamano, Melissa Ramirez, Evan R. Darzi, Rachel R. Knapp, Fang Liu, K. N. Houk, and Neil K. Garg. Nature Chemistry 2018 10, 953–960.
- Arynes and Cyclic Alkynes as Synthetic Building Blocks for Stereodefined Quaternary Centers. Elias Picazo, Sarah M. Anthony, Maude Giroud, Adam Simon, Margeaux A. Miller, K. N. Houk, and Neil K. Garg. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 7605–7610.
- Enantioselective Total Syntheses of Methanoquinolizidine-Containing Akuammiline Alkaloids and Related Studies. Elias Picazo, Lucas A. Morrill, Robert B. Susick, Jesus Moreno, Joel Smith, and Neil K. Garg. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 6483–6492.
- Engineering the Biocatalytic Selectivity of Iridoid Production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. John M. Billingsley, Anthony B. DeNicola, Joyann S. Barber, Man-Cheng Tang, Joe Horecka, Angela Chu, Neil K. Garg, and Yi Tang. Metab. Eng. 2017, 44, 117–125.
- Conjugated Trimeric Scaffolds Accessible From Indolyne Cyclotrimerizations: Synthesis, Structures, and Electronic Properties. Janice B. Lin, Tejas K. Shah, Adam E. Goetz, Neil K. Garg, and K. N. Houk. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 10447–10455.
- Total Synthesis of (–)-Tubingensin B Enabled by the Strategic Use of an Aryne Cyclization. Michael A. Corsello, Junyong Kim, and Neil K. Garg. Nature Chemistry 2017, 9, 944–949.
- The Organic Coloring Book. Elaina Garg, Kaylie Garg, and Neil K. Garg.
- Conversion of Amides to Esters by the Nickel-Catalysed Activation of Amide C–N Bonds. Liana Hie, Noah F. Fine Nathel, Tejas K. Shah, Emma L. Baker, Xin Hong, Yun-Fang Yang, Peng Liu, K. N. Houk, and Neil K. Garg. Nature 2015, 524, 79–83.