Sarah E. Reisman
Sarah Reisman is the Bren Professor of Chemistry and Norman Davidson Leadership Chair of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech. Reisman's research focuses on the chemical synthesis of organic molecules known as natural products: molecules produced in nature by bacteria, fungi, or plants. Many antibiotics and anticancer agents can trace their roots to natural products, and the chemical synthesis of such compounds can advance both our understanding of chemistry and their biology. In addition to pursuing the synthesis of specific substances, Reisman's group seeks to develop ever more effective and robust methods of chemical synthesis, including new catalytic processes.
Reisman joined the faculty of Caltech in 2008. She received her PhD from Yale University in 2006 under the direction of John Wood, working in the field of natural product synthesis. During a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University funded by the National Institutes of Health, Reisman worked with Eric Jacobsen studying asymmetric catalysis.