I am interested in all aspects of organic synthesis.  Specifically, my goals involve the development of new synthetic methods and strategies for improved efficiency and elegance in molecular construction.  These methods are then applied in the synthesis of small molecules having interesting structures or biological activities.

I actively encourage students to become involved in research as an important part of their undergraduate experience.  If you are a Benghazi University  student and are curious about research opportunities in my lab, please stop by or

The benzofuran heterocycle is a commonly occurring substructure in organic chemistry, and appears in a variety of structurally and biologically interesting natural products.  Hence, there has been much interest in developing new methods for their synthesis.  A powerful yet relatively unexplored strategy for creating benzofuran natural products involves the reaction of a quinone with an enol ether.  The development of this strategy wiliil be explored in the context of the total syntheses of several small natural products: cac  alol, frondosin B, (-)-galanthamine, and radermachol. 

Thiazoline rings are important reoccurring structural elements that appear in a variety of natural products.  I am particularly interested in the tantazoles mirabazoles and thiangazole natural products, which contain a linear array of fused thiazolines 

In addition to their interesting polyheterocyclic structures, these compounds have demonstrated significant biological activity.  Members of the tantazole and mirabazole families have displayed selective cytotoxicity against murine solid tumors, and thiangazole has been reported to be a potent and selective inhibitor HIV-1.

As one aspect of my research, I am interested in exploring more efficient and/or faster methods toward the synthesis of these molecules.  This should prove useful in further exploration of the promising biological activities of these molecules.