Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Nevada Reno
Roles: Measurement of plant chemical diversity and volatile characterization of the herbivore community
Dr. Jeffrey’s research laboratory is focused on addressing important, unmet challenges in target directed synthesis. Areas of research are identified using a synergistic approach where (1) inspiration from structurally and biologically interesting molecular targets drives reaction discovery, and (2) innovation in methodology enables new strategies for target-directed synthesis. Goals of this recent work that are directly relevant to this project are (1) map the diversity of secondary metabolism to the diversity of tropical rainforest caterpillars, (2) explore the link between phytochemical variation and the speciation of the caterpillar, and (3) understand the role of mixtures of natural products in the overall biologically activity of defensive compounds. These studies have stimulated the development of new approaches to metabolic characterization of phytochemically diverse species, led to the discovery of new natural products, and to the development of syntheses of some of these natural products.
Education:
Council on Science and Technology Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton University, 2007-2010
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2007
B.S.,, Carroll College, 2002