Patrick Harran (born 13 July 1969) is an American organic chemist who has held the D. J. & J. M. Cram Chair in

Organic Chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

, an

endowed chair A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, since 2008. Prior to taking this position he was a professor at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...

. Harran was educated at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

graduating in 1990. He went on to Yale University, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1995. In 2009, a research assistant in his lab, Sheri Sangji, died from

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

injuries after a chemical fire. A

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, but more commonly known as Cal/OSHA) of the California Department of Industrial Relations is an agency of the Government of California established by the California Occupational Safety & Hea ...

report faulted Harran for willfully neglecting safety protocols. He was charged with four felony counts in the first criminal case stemming from a

laboratory accident Many laboratories contain significant risks, and the prevention of laboratory accidents requires great care and constant vigilance. Examples of risk factors include high voltages, high and low pressures and temperatures, corrosive and toxic chem ...

in U.S. history, but avoided jailtime through a

plea deal A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

with prosecutors, which was finalized in 2018. In 2015, the AAAS Chemistry Section nominated, but then did not proceed with the nomination of Harran for AAAS Fellow, after concerns about the Sangji case were raised by the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety.

Research

Harran's research is focused on the

total synthesis Total synthesis, a specialized area within organic chemistry, focuses on constructing complex organic compounds, especially those found in nature, using laboratory methods. It often involves synthesizing natural products from basic, commercially ...

natural products 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 ...

, design of novel chemical compounds to study

protein–protein interaction Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are physical contacts of high specificity established between two or more protein molecules as a result of biochemical events steered by interactions that include electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding and t ...

s, and

medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

Awards and honors

Sources: * J. Clarence Karcher Medal, University of Oklahoma, 17 March 2017 * Hanson-Dow Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2013 * Glenn T. Seaborg Award -

Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Chi Sigma () is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 78,000 m ...

, 2009 * Norman Hackerman Prize of the Robert A. Welch Foundation, 2007 * E. Bright Wilson Prize - Harvard University, 2005 * Merck Research Laboratories Chemistry Council Award, 2005-2007 * Mar Nell and F. Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair, 2005 * Pfizer Award for Creativity in Organic Synthesis, 2003 * Distinguished Alumni Award, Skidmore College, 2003 * Eli Lilly Grantee, 2003-2004 * AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award, 2002 * Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 2002-2004 * National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2000-2004 * National Research Service Award, Stanford University, 1995-1997 *

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consist ...

Research Fellow, Yale University, 1993 * American Institute of Chemists Award, Skidmore College, 1990 * Highest Departmental Honors in Chemistry, Skidmore College, 1990 * One Year Advanced Admission, Skidmore College, 1986

Laboratory fire

On December 29, 2008, a fire in Harran's UCLA laboratory fatally burned research assistant Sheri Sangji. Harran in 2011 was charged with four felony counts of willfully violating occupational safety standards in the case, carrying a maximum jail term of 4.5 years. It was the first time any American academic had been criminally charged for a laboratory accident. Representatives of Harran, and the university's Board of Regents who were also charged in the incident, disputed the charges... Harran and prosecutors in 2014 reached a deferred prosecution agreement in which Harran was ordered to pay $10,000 to a local burn center and do 800 hours of community service. Deputy District Attorney Craig W. Hum said that the penalty was similar to any sentence Harran would have received if convicted, while Sangji's family criticized it as "barely a slap on the wrist". The charges were subsequently dropped in 2018, in accordance with the settlement terms.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harran, Patrick 1969 births Living people 21st-century American chemists University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty Skidmore College alumni