is a Japanese chemist who is the Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. He is known for his contributions to the sciences of
organic synthesis
Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...
and
total synthesis.
Kishi was born in Nagoya, Japan and attended
Nagoya University
, abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was the seventh Imperial University in Japan, one of the first five Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of ...
, where he obtained both his BS and PhD degrees.
He was a
postdoctoral research
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...
fellow at Harvard University where he worked with
Robert Burns Woodward.
[ From 1966 through 1974, he was a professor of chemistry at Nagoya University.][ Since 1974, Kishi has been a professor of chemistry at Harvard University.
Kishi's research has focused on the total synthesis of complex natural products. The accomplishments of his research group include the ]total syntheses
Total synthesis is the complete chemical synthesis of a complex molecule, often a natural product, from simple, commercially-available precursors. It usually refers to a process not involving the aid of biological processes, which distinguishes ...
of palytoxin
Palytoxin, PTX or PLTX is an intense vasoconstrictor, and is considered to be one of the most poisonous non- protein substances known, second only to maitotoxin in terms of toxicity in mice.
Palytoxin is a polyhydroxylated and partially unsatur ...
, mycolactones, halichondrin
Halichondrin B is a polyether macrolide originally isolated from the marine sponge '' Halichondria okadai'' by Hirata and Uemura in 1986. In the same report, these authors also reported the exquisite anticancer activity of halichondrin B against ...
s, saxitoxin
Saxitoxin (STX) is a potent neurotoxin and the best-known paralytic shellfish toxin (PST). Ingestion of saxitoxin by humans, usually by consumption of shellfish contaminated by toxic algal blooms, is responsible for the illness known as paralyti ...
, tetrodotoxin
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discovere ...
, geldanamycin, batrachotoxin
Batrachotoxin (BTX) is an extremely potent cardio- and neurotoxic steroidal alkaloid found in certain species of beetles, birds, and frogs. The name is from the Greek word grc, βάτραχος, bátrachos, frog, label=none. Structurally-relate ...
and many others. Kishi has also contributed to the development of new chemical reactions including the Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction
The Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction is a nickel/chromium coupling reaction forming an alcohol from the reaction of an aldehyde with an allyl or vinyl halide. In their original 1977 publication, Tamejiro Hiyama and Hitoshi Nozaki reported on a c ...
.
Recognition
*1999 Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy
*2001 Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry & BioMedicinal Chemistry Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...
*2013 Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...
*2018 Ryoji Noyori Prize
The Ryoji Noyori Prize was established by the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan in 2002 to commemorate Ryōji Noyori winning the 101st Nobel Prize in Chemistry as well as the 60th anniversary of the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemist ...
See also
*Hitoshi Nozaki
, sometimes spelled Hitosi, was a Japanese chemist specializing in the field of organic chemistry, known as the head of Japanese organic chemistry research, and one of the discoverers of Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction. He was Emeritus Profess ...
References
Harvard University faculty
Japanese chemists
21st-century American chemists
Living people
1937 births
Nagoya University alumni
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