Huw Davies, PhD

Research Program

Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics
Phone Number

404-727-6839
Email Address

hmdavie@emory.edu

Biography

Huw M. L. Davies, PhD, joined the Emory University faculty in 2008 as the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Organic Chemistry. He is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to Emory, he held the positions of UB Distinguished Professor and Larkin Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York.

Education

Dr. Davies received his BSc degree from University College in Cardiff, Wales, and his PhD from the University of East Anglia. He completed his post-doctoral training at Princeton University.

Titles & Roles

Asa Griggs Candler Professor, Department of Chemistry

Emory University
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Chemistry

Emory University

Research

Dr. Davies' research emphasizes the development of new enantioselective synthetic methods and their applications in total synthesis and drug discovery. His program covers design of chiral catalysts, carbenoid chemistry, development of new synthetic methodology, total synthesis of biologically active natural products and development of chiral therapeutic agents. Many research groups have used his chiral dirhodium catalysts and several of them are commercially available.

Grants

View Grants

Grant Number	Title
2R01GM099142-09	New Directions in Enantioselective C-H Functionalization
5R01GM099142-10	New Directions in Enantioselective C-H Functionalization
5R01GM099142-11	New Directions in Enantioselective C-H Functionalization
5R01GM099142-12	New Directions in Enantioselective C-H Functionalization

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Heterogeneous Fe-N-C Catalyst for Aerobic Dehydrogenation of Hydrazones to Diazo Compounds Used for Carbene Transfer. Journal of the American Chemical Society	MN Hall, M Lee, TW Root, HML Davies, SS Stahl	08/05/2024
Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Cyclopropanation and Desymmetrization of [2.2]Paracyclophanes. ACS catalysis	D Ly, J Bacsa, HML Davies	03/05/2024
Better Together: Catalyzing Innovation in Organic Synthesis via Academic-Industrial Consortia. Organic letters	J Alcázar, EA Anderson, HML Davies, R Febrian, CB Kelly, T Noël, EA Voight, C Zarate, E Zysman-Colman	12/04/2024
Stereoselective Synthesis of Either Exo- or Endo-3-Azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-6-carboxylates by Dirhodium(II)-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation with Ethyl Diazoacetate under Low Catalyst Loadings. Organic letters	TH Nguyen, A Navarro, JC Ruble, HML Davies	12/04/2024
Anhydrous and Stereoretentive Fluoride-Enhanced Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling of Immunomodulatory Imide Drug Derivatives. The Journal of organic chemistry	WF Tracy, GHM Davies, LN Grant, JM Ganley, J Moreno, EC Cherney, HML Davies	05/04/2024
Diaryldiazoketones as Effective Carbene Sources for Highly Selective Rh(II)-Catalyzed Intermolecular C-H Functionalization. Journal of the American Chemical Society	TH Nguyen, AT Bosse, D Ly, CA Suarez, J Fu, K Shimabukuro, DG Musaev, HML Davies	27/03/2024
Enantioselective Intermolecular C-H Functionalization of Primary Benzylic C-H Bonds Using ((Aryl)(diazo)methyl)phosphonates. ACS catalysis	Y Naeem, BT Matsuo, HML Davies	05/01/2024
A Novel 7H-[1,2,4]Triazolo[3,4-b]thiadiazine-based Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Potentiator Directed toward Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis. ACS medicinal chemistry letters	A Rab, X Yang, WF Tracy, JS Hong, D Joshi, C Manfredi, SS Ponnaluri, AA Kolykhalov, M Qui, H Fu, Y Du, HML Davies, EJ Sorscher	12/10/2023
Diruthenium Tetracarboxylate-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cyclopropanation with Aryldiazoacetates. Organometallics	JK Sailer, JC Sharland, J Bacsa, CF Harris, JF Berry, DG Musaev, HML Davies	14/08/2023
One-Pot Synthesis of Difluorobicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes from α-Allyldiazoacetates. Organic letters	JC Sharland, HML Davies	21/07/2023
Stereoselective Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Cyclohexenes via Strong-Acid-Mediated Endocyclic C-C Bond Cleavage of Monocyclopropanated Cyclopentadienes. Organic letters	S Fischer, TH Nguyen, A Ratzenboeck, HML Davies, O Reiser	23/06/2023
N-Phthalimide as a Site-Protecting and Stereodirecting Group in Rhodium-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization with Donor/Acceptor Carbenes. Organic letters	Z Chen, Q Cai, YT Boni, W Liu, J Fu, HML Davies	09/06/2023
Enantioselective Synthesis of Triarylmethanes via Intermolecular C-H Functionalization of Cyclohexadienes with Diaryldiazomethanes. Organic letters	M Lee, HML Davies	09/06/2023
Dirhodium C-H Functionalization of Hole-Transport Materials. The Journal of organic chemistry	F Saeedifard, Y Naeem, YT Boni, YC Chang, J Zhang, Y Zhang, B Kippelen, S Barlow, HML Davies, SR Marder	07/04/2023
Catalyst Controlled Site- and Stereoselective Rhodium(II) Carbene C(sp³)-H Functionalization of Allyl Boronates. Organic letters	YT Boni, J Vaitla, HML Davies	13/01/2023
Unearthing the Subtleties of Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed Carbenoid Cycloadditions to Furans with an N-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazole Probe. Organic letters	CJ Bettencourt, T Krainz, S Chow, BT Parr, WF Tracy, PV Bernhardt, HML Davies, CM Williams	23/12/2022
In-situ Kinetic Studies of Rh(II)-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization to Achieve High Catalyst Turnover Numbers. ACS catalysis	B Wei, JC Sharland, DG Blackmond, DG Musaev, HML Davies	04/11/2022
Asymmetric Cyclopropanation with 4-Aryloxy-1-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles: Expanding the Range of Rhodium-Stabilized Donor/Acceptor Carbenes to Systems with an Oxygen Donor Group. The Journal of organic chemistry	RW Kubiak, WF Tracy, JS Alford, HML Davies	04/11/2022
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Extended C4-Symmetric Dirhodium Tetracarboxylate Catalysts. ACS catalysis	ZJ Garlets, YT Boni, JC Sharland, PR Kirby, J Fu, J Bacsa, HML Davies	02/09/2022
Leveraging Regio- and Stereoselective C(sp³)-H Functionalization of Silyl Ethers to Train a Logistic Regression Classification Model for Predicting Site-Selectivity Bias. Journal of the American Chemical Society	YT Boni, RC Cammarota, K Liao, MS Sigman, HML Davies	31/08/2022
Mechanistically Guided Workflow for Relating Complex Reactive Site Topologies to Catalyst Performance in C-H Functionalization Reactions. Journal of the American Chemical Society	RC Cammarota, W Liu, J Bacsa, HML Davies, MS Sigman	02/02/2022
A C-H Functionalization Strategy Enables an Enantioselective Formal Synthesis of (-)-Aflatoxin B₂. Organic letters	NA Falcone, AT Bosse, H Park, JQ Yu, HML Davies, EJ Sorensen	17/12/2021
Asymmetric synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant 1-aryl-2-heteroaryl- and 1,2-diheteroarylcyclopropane-1-carboxylates. Chemical science	JC Sharland, B Wei, DJ Hardee, TR Hodges, W Gong, EA Voight, HML Davies	25/08/2021
Copper(II) Acetate-Induced Oxidation of Hydrazones to Diazo Compounds under Flow Conditions Followed by Dirhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cyclopropanation Reactions. Organic letters	B Wei, TA Hatridge, CW Jones, HML Davies	16/07/2021
Optimized Immobilization Strategy for Dirhodium(II) Carboxylate Catalysts for C-H Functionalization and Their Implementation in a Packed Bed Flow Reactor. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	TA Hatridge, W Liu, CJ Yoo, HML Davies, CW Jones	26/10/2020
Comparison of 1,2-Diarylcyclopropanecarboxylates with 1,2,2-Triarylcyclopropanecarboxylates as Chiral Ligands for Dirhodium-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation and C-H Functionalization. The Journal of organic chemistry	B Wertz, Z Ren, J Bacsa, DG Musaev, HML Davies	02/10/2020
Rhodium-Stabilized Diarylcarbenes Behaving as Donor/Acceptor Carbenes. ACS catalysis	M Lee, Z Ren, DG Musaev, HML Davies	05/06/2020
Distal Allylic/Benzylic C-H Functionalization of Silyl Ethers Using Donor/Acceptor Rhodium(II) Carbenes. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	J Vaitla, YT Boni, HML Davies	04/05/2020
Functionalization of Piperidine Derivatives for the Site-Selective and Stereoselective Synthesis of Positional Analogues of Methylphenidate. Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)	W Liu, T Babl, A Röther, O Reiser, HML Davies	01/04/2020
Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective [4+2] Cycloadditions of Vinylcarbenes with Dienes. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	B Zhang, HML Davies	16/03/2020
Donor-Acceptor-Acceptor 1,3-Bisdiazo Compounds: An Exploration of Synthesis and Stepwise Reactivity. Organic letters	DJ Abrams, HML Davies, EJ Sorensen	06/03/2020
Regio- and Stereoselective Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization of Cyclobutanes. Chem	ZJ Garlets, BD Wertz, W Liu, EA Voight, HML Davies	09/01/2020
C-H Functionalization Approach for the Synthesis of Chiral C₂-Symmetric 1,5-Cyclooctadiene Ligands. Organic letters	B Zhang, MR Hollerbach, SB Blakey, HML Davies	20/12/2019
Finding Opportunities from Surprises and Failures. Development of Rhodium-Stabilized Donor/Acceptor Carbenes and Their Application to Catalyst-Controlled C-H Functionalization. The Journal of organic chemistry	HML Davies	18/10/2019
Rh(II)-Catalyzed Monocyclopropanation of Pyrroles and Its Application to the Synthesis Pharmaceutically Relevant Compounds. Organic letters	J Fu, N Wurzer, V Lehner, O Reiser, HML Davies	02/08/2019
Regio- and Stereoselective Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization of Organosilanes by Donor/Acceptor Carbenes Derived from Aryldiazoacetates. Organic letters	ZJ Garlets, EF Hicks, J Fu, EA Voight, HML Davies	21/06/2019
Dirhodium tetracarboxylates as catalysts for selective intermolecular C-H functionalization. Nature reviews. Chemistry	HML Davies, K Liao	01/06/2019
Desymmetrization of cyclohexanes by site- and stereoselective C-H functionalization. Nature	J Fu, Z Ren, J Bacsa, DG Musaev, HML Davies	01/12/2018
New directions in natural product synthesis. Chemical Society reviews	HML Davies, K Itami, BM Stoltz	29/10/2018
Design of catalysts for site-selective and enantioselective functionalization of non-activated primary C-H bonds. Nature chemistry	K Liao, YF Yang, Y Li, JN Sanders, KN Houk, DG Musaev, HML Davies	01/10/2018
Catalyst-Controlled Selective Functionalization of Unactivated C-H Bonds in the Presence of Electronically Activated C-H Bonds. Journal of the American Chemical Society	W Liu, Z Ren, AT Bosse, K Liao, EL Goldstein, J Bacsa, DG Musaev, BM Stoltz, HML Davies	26/09/2018
An Immobilized-Dirhodium Hollow-Fiber Flow Reactor for Scalable and Sustainable C-H Functionalization in Continuous Flow. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	CJ Yoo, D Rackl, W Liu, CB Hoyt, B Pimentel, RP Lively, HML Davies, CW Jones	20/08/2018
Synthesis of [3a,7a]-Dihydroindoles by a Tandem Arene Cyclopropanation/3,5-Sigmatropic Rearrangement Reaction. The Journal of organic chemistry	SM Wilkerson-Hill, BE Haines, DG Musaev, HML Davies	03/08/2018
Rhodium-Catalyzed Intermolecular C-H Functionalization as a Key Step in the Synthesis of Complex Stereodefined β-Arylpyrrolidines. Organic letters	RW Kubiak, HML Davies	06/07/2018
Blue light-promoted photolysis of aryldiazoacetates. Chemical science	ID Jurberg, HML Davies	14/06/2018
Formation of Tertiary Alcohols from the Rhodium-Catalyzed Reactions of Donor/Acceptor Carbenes with Esters. Organic letters	L Fu, K Hoang, C Tortoreto, W Liu, HML Davies	20/04/2018
Harnessing the β-Silicon Effect for Regioselective and Stereoselective Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization by Donor/Acceptor Carbenes Derived from 1-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles. Organic letters	ZJ Garlets, HML Davies	20/04/2018
Site-selective and stereoselective functionalization of non-activated tertiary C-H bonds. Nature	K Liao, TC Pickel, V Boyarskikh, J Bacsa, DG Musaev, HML Davies	30/11/2017
Rhodium- and Non-Metal-Catalyzed Approaches for the Conversion of Isoxazol-5-ones to 2,3-Dihydro-6H-1,3-oxazin-6-ones. Organic letters	ID Jurberg, HML Davies	06/10/2017
Collective Approach to Advancing C-H Functionalization. ACS central science	HML Davies, D Morton	27/09/2017
Rh(II)-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation of Furans and Its Application to the Total Synthesis of Natural Product Derivatives. Organic letters	V Lehner, HML Davies, O Reiser	15/09/2017
Synthesis of Donor/Acceptor-Substituted Diazo Compounds in Flow and Their Application in Enantioselective Dirhodium-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation and C-H Functionalization. Organic letters	D Rackl, CJ Yoo, CW Jones, HML Davies	16/06/2017
Scope of the Reactions of Indolyl- and Pyrrolyl-Tethered N-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles: Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed Synthesis of Indole- and Pyrrole-Fused Polycyclic Compounds. Organic letters	L Fu, HM Davies	07/04/2017
Synthesis of 2,2,2,-Trichloroethyl Aryl- and Vinyldiazoacetates by Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling. Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)	L Fu, JD Mighion, EA Voight, HM Davies	08/03/2017
Metal-Free C-H Functionalization of Alkanes by Aryldiazoacetates. Organic letters	C Tortoreto, D Rackl, HM Davies	17/02/2017
Rapid Construction of a Benzo-Fused Indoxamycin Core Enabled by Site-Selective C-H Functionalizations. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	TA Bedell, GA Hone, D Valette, JQ Yu, HM Davies, EJ Sorensen	11/07/2016
Enantioselective Intermolecular C-H Functionalization of Allylic and Benzylic sp(3) C-H Bonds Using N-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles. Organic letters	RW Kubiak, JD Mighion, SM Wilkerson-Hill, JS Alford, T Yoshidomi, HM Davies	01/07/2016
Site-selective and stereoselective functionalization of unactivated C-H bonds. Nature	K Liao, S Negretti, DG Musaev, J Bacsa, HM Davies	12/05/2016
Rhodium(II)-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization of Electron-Deficient Methyl Groups. Journal of the American Chemical Society	L Fu, DM Guptill, HM Davies	11/05/2016
Recent Advances in C-H Functionalization. The Journal of organic chemistry	HM Davies, D Morton	15/01/2016
Enantioselective Dirhodium(II)-Catalyzed Cyclopropanations with Trimethylsilylethyl and Trichloroethyl Aryldiazoacetates. Tetrahedron	S Negretti, CM Cohen, JJ Chang, DM Guptill, HML Davies	30/09/2015
Using IR vibrations to quantitatively describe and predict site-selectivity in multivariate Rh-catalyzed C-H functionalization. Chemical science	EN Bess, DM Guptill, HML Davies, MS Sigman	01/05/2015
Stereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclohexanes by a rhodium-carbene initiated domino sequence. Organic letters	BT Parr, HM Davies	20/02/2015
Concise syntheses of dictyodendrins A and F by a sequential C-H functionalization strategy. Journal of the American Chemical Society	AD Yamaguchi, KM Chepiga, J Yamaguchi, K Itami, HM Davies	21/01/2015
Late-stage C-H functionalization of complex alkaloids and drug molecules via intermolecular rhodium-carbenoid insertion. Nature communications	J He, LG Hamann, HM Davies, RE Beckwith	12/01/2015
2,2,2-Trichloroethyl aryldiazoacetates as robust reagents for the enantioselective C-H functionalization of methyl ethers. Journal of the American Chemical Society	DM Guptill, HM Davies	24/12/2014
Enantioselective synthesis of (-)-maoecrystal V by enantiodetermining C-H functionalization. Journal of the American Chemical Society	P Lu, A Mailyan, Z Gu, DM Guptill, H Wang, HM Davies, A Zakarian	24/12/2014
Reversal of the regiochemistry in the rhodium-catalyzed [4+3] cycloaddition between vinyldiazoacetates and dienes. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	PE Guzmán, Y Lian, HM Davies	24/11/2014
C-H functionalization: collaborative methods to redefine chemical logic. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)	HM Davies, D Morton	22/09/2014
Synthesis of complex hexacyclic compounds via a tandem Rh(II)-catalyzed double-cyclopropanation/Cope rearrangement/Diels-Alder reaction. Organic letters	JE Spangler, Y Lian, SN Raikar, HM Davies	19/09/2014
T cell antigen discovery using soluble vaccinia proteome reveals recognition of antigens with both virion and nonvirion association. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)	DH Davies, S Chun, G Hermanson, JA Tucker, A Jain, R Nakajima, J Pablo, PL Felgner, X Liang	15/08/2014
Highly stereoselective synthesis of cyclopentanes bearing four stereocentres by a rhodium carbene-initiated domino sequence. Nature communications	BT Parr, HM Davies	01/08/2014
Mild aminoacylation of indoles and pyrroles through a three-component reaction with ynol ethers and sulfonyl azides. Journal of the American Chemical Society	JS Alford, HM Davies	23/07/2014
Role of sterically demanding chiral dirhodium catalysts in site-selective C-H functionalization of activated primary C-H bonds. Journal of the American Chemical Society	C Qin, HM Davies	09/07/2014
Role of ortho-substituents on rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of β-lactones by intramolecular C-H insertions of aryldiazoacetates. Organic letters	L Fu, H Wang, HM Davies	06/06/2014
Diversity-oriented synthesis as a tool for identifying new modulators of mitosis. Nature communications	BM Ibbeson, L Laraia, E Alza, CJ O' Connor, YS Tan, HM Davies, G McKenzie, AR Venkitaraman, DR Spring	01/01/2014
Rhodium(II)-catalyzed stereoselective synthesis of allylsilanes. Organic letters	DM Guptill, CM Cohen, HM Davies	20/12/2013
Silica-immobilized chiral dirhodium(II) catalyst for enantioselective carbenoid reactions. Organic letters	KM Chepiga, Y Feng, NA Brunelli, CW Jones, HM Davies	20/12/2013
Silver-catalyzed vinylogous fluorination of vinyl diazoacetates. Organic letters	C Qin, HM Davies	20/12/2013

Awards

The impact of his carbenoid chemistry was recently recognized as he was chosen to be the recipient of the 2013 eEROS Reagent of the Year Award. Other recent awards Dr. Davies has received include the American Chemical Society Cope Scholar Award (2005), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2007), Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2009), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012) and Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2014).