Michael E. Jung is a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the
University of California at Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...
.
Michael Jung was born May 14, 1947, in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
.
Early life and education
Jung received a B.A. from
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres.
Rice University comp ...
in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, in 1969 and a Ph.D. from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1973 where he did research with
Gilbert Stork.
Career
Jung then obtained a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with
Albert Eschenmoser at the
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. In 1974, he joined the faculty at UCLA, where he has spent his career. In 1979 Jung was awarded a Sloan research fellowship.
Jung's research is focused on the development of new reactions for
organic synthesis
Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...
, including the Jung "non-aldol aldol" protocol, an alternate method for obtaining
aldol products without using the classical
aldol reaction
The aldol reaction (aldol addition) is a Chemical reaction, reaction in organic chemistry that combines two Carbonyl group, carbonyl compounds (e.g. aldehydes or ketones) to form a new β-hydroxy carbonyl compound. Its simplest form might invol ...
. He has also developed chemical syntheses for a variety of
natural product
A natural product is a natural compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural products can also be prepared by chemical s ...
s with
antitumor
Cancer treatments are a wide range of treatments available for the many different types of cancer, with each cancer type needing its own specific treatment. Treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targe ...
and
antiviral
Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...
properties including
tedanolides,
oxetanocin,
halomons, and
xestobergsterol. Other research interests include the bridged
Robinson annulation
The Robinson annulation is a chemical reaction used in organic chemistry for ring formation. It was discovered by Robert Robinson (organic chemist), Robert Robinson in 1935 as a method to create a six membered ring by forming three new carbon–c ...
and the mixed
Lewis acid
A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any ...
Diels-Alder process.

Jung's research group developed an
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.[androgen receptor
The androgen receptor (AR), also known as NR3C4 (nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 4), is a type of nuclear receptor that is activated by binding any of the androgenic hormones, including testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, in th ...](_b ...<br></span></div> of the <div class=)
enzalutamide, which is a pharmaceutical drug used for the treatment of hormone refractory
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
. An analog of enzalutamide,
apalutamide, was also FDA approved.
Awards
* 2022 IUPAC-Richter Prize
* 2016
Glenn T. Seaborg Medal, UCLA
* 2016 Richard C.
Tolman Award, Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society
* 2015 American Association for Cancer Research
AACR Awards Team Science Award
* 1995 American Chemical Society
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Michael E.
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
21st-century American chemists
Living people
Rice University alumni
Columbia University alumni
1947 births