Peter O'Brien's Biography

Peter O'Brien, Professor, University of York

Peter O'Brien studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He graduated in 1992 and carried out a PhD under the supervision of Dr Stuart Warren. In 1995, he moved to The University of York as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow. In March 1996, he was appointed as a lecturer in organic chemistry at The University of York. In 1999, he was awarded one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Meldola medals and prizes and in 2000, a GlaxoWellcome award for innovative organic chemistry. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer (2002), Reader (2005) and Professor (2007). In 2013, he received the Royal Society of Chemistry Organic Stereochemistry Award for his 10-year odyssey on the (+)-sparteine surrogate. His research interests are in the areas of organolithium chemistry, asymmetric synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles and the exploration of 3-D pharmaceutical lead-like and fragment space.