Advancements in Process chemistry – Screening, automation and innovation

Ángel is a Senior Scientist at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield, UK, where he has contributed for over two years by applying modeling and mechanistic understanding to process design. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, in the group of Prof. Franziska Schoenebeck. Ángel received his PhD from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Spain, where he combined experimental and theoretical approaches to advance the mechanistic understanding of chemical reactions.

Maddie earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia, conducting her research in Professor Jason Hein’s laboratory. During her doctoral studies, she utilized the lab’s custom automation platforms to generate data-rich reaction profiles and develop mechanistic understanding for complex transition metal-catalyzed processes. In 2023, Maddie joined the Data Rich Experimentation group at Merck, where she focuses on developing and deploying enabling technologies to support process development and characterization.

I’m currently a Principal Scientist at Pfizer. I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Houston and completed my postdoctoral training at Indiana University. My current work specializes in late-stage process development and chemical engineering.

Pierre-Louis was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Université Laval while being an intern in Prof. Thierry Ollevier research group, focusing on the development of green synthetic methodologies.  Pierre-Louis then moved to Montreal and earned his Ph.D. under the guidance of Prof. Bruce A. Arndtsen at McGill University as a NSERC & FRQNT doctoral fellow, focusing on the development of new approaches to acylation reactions via metal-catalyzed carbonylation and electrochemistry.  He then joined the research group of Prof. Song Lin at Cornell University as a postdoctoral associate, and worked on developing scalable, stereoselective electrochemical borylation of oxygenated allylic electrophiles, and utilized these methodologies in diverse synthetic sequences to expand the chemistry toolbox. More recently, Pierre-Louis joined Sanofi as a senior scientist in process chemistry and is part of the Data Rich Experimentation team.

Hailing from Lima, Peru, Alonso joined the Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) organization at Lilly in 2019 after completing his PhD studies in Organic Chemistry at the University of Michigan with Prof. Pavel Nagorny and Prof. Paul Zimmerman. During his graduate studies he worked on the development and application of novel acetal containing ligands for asymmetric transition metal catalysis, as well as quantum-chemical mechanistic investigations of phosphoric acid-catalyzed acetalizations. Currently a Sr. Advisor-Chemistry, Alonso has worked on the process development and optimization for several projects spanning from early development to post-approval modifications, including peptide assets as well as anti-cancer small-molecules such as selpercatinib, pirtobrutinib, imlunestrant. In parallel, Alonso leads the SMDD Data-Rich Experimentation Team and is highly enthusiastic about cultivating a data-rich and automation-centric culture in SMDD.

Seb completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Ottawa, Canada working on the development of novel Ru catalyst for olefin metathesis and employed these catalysts for the synthesis of macrocyclic organic molecules as well as in the synthesis of well-defined polymer for tissues engineering applications. Seb went on to do a postdoc at Princeton with prof. Paul Chirik. At Princeton Seb spearheaded the Co catalysis program for organic synthesis, developed high active and enantioselective catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation, and helped set the stage for a long-lasting collaboration between the Chirik group and Merck. In 2012 Seb started working in the high-throughput screening lab for in the process chemistry team at Pfizer in Groton, CT. Over the years Seb helped implement various technologies to better support the screening and development needs, including automated solid dosing technology, computer vision for laboratory applications and, more recently, the ReactALL. Over the years Seb’s became more and more involved in technology development at the intersection of chemistry, engineer, robotic and AI.

Maddie earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia, conducting her research in Professor Jason Hein’s laboratory. During her doctoral studies, she utilized the lab’s custom automation platforms to generate data-rich reaction profiles and develop mechanistic understanding for complex transition metal-catalyzed processes. In 2023, Maddie joined the Data Rich Experimentation group at Merck, where she focuses on developing and deploying enabling technologies to support process development and characterization.

Alan is currently the Head of Data-Rich Experimentation within the Process Chemistry department at Sanofi. Alan received his PhD in Chemistry under the guidance of Professor Sarah Reisman where he focused on the development of asymmetric nickel-catalyzed reductive cross-couplings. Prior to joining Sanofi in 2021, Alan has held industrial positions in process chemistry and high-throughput experimentation at Amgen and Vertex.