Steven L. Castle

Office: C411 BNSN
Office Phone: 801-422-1780
Lab Room: C449, C455, C47, C494, C437A (all BNSN)
Lab Phone: 801-422-3827
Email: scastle@chem.byu.edu
Office Hours
Education:
BS, Brigham Young University (1995)
Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute (2000)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Irvine (2000-2002)
Research:
The Castle Research Group is focused on the total synthesis of architecturally complex bioactive natural products and peptides. The Group believes that the structures of such compounds can serve as inspiration for the invention of new organic reactions and processes. Additionally, studies of their biological activity can increase science's understanding of their modes of action, potentially leading to the design and development of new therapeutic agents. Some of Castle Research Group's recent synthetic targets are shown below.
The Castle Research Group also focuses on bioorganic chemistry, cancer research, and medicinal and natural products.
Publications:
63. Singh, J.; Nickel, G. A.; Cai, Y.; Jones, D. D.; Nelson, T. J.; Small, J. E.; Castle, S. L.* “Synthesis of Functionalized Pyrrolines via Microwave-Promoted Iminyl Radical Cyclizations.” Org. Lett. 2021, 23, 3970–3974.
62. Cai, Y.; Ma, Z.; Jiang, J.; Lo, C. C. L.; Luo, S.; Jalan, A.; Cardon, J. M.; Ramos, A.; Moyá, D. A.; Joaquin, D.; Castle, S. L.* “Convergent Total Synthesis of Yaku’amide A.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 5162–5167.
61. Joaquin, D.; Lee, M. A.; Kastner, D. W.; Singh, J.; Morrill, S. T.; Damstedt, G.; Castle, S. L.* “Impact of Dehydroamino Acids on the Structure and Stability of Incipient 310-Helical Peptides.” J. Org. Chem. 2020, 85, 1601–1613.
58. Jackman, M. M.; Im, S.; Bohman, S. R.; Lo, C. C. L.; Garrity, A. L.; Castle, S. L.* “Synthesis of Functionalized Nitriles via Microwave-Promoted Fragmentations of Cyclic Iminyl Radicals.” Chem.–Eur. J. 2018, 24, 594–598.
57. Jalan, A.; Kastner, D. W.; Webber, K. G. I.; Smith, M. S.; Price, J. L.;* Castle, S. L.* “Bulky Dehydroamino Acids Enhance Proteolytic Stability and Folding in β-Hairpin Peptides.” Org. Lett. 2017, 19, 5190–5193.
Click here for Dr. Castle's complete list of publications.
Awards:
- Research Innovation Award, Research Corporation (2004)
- Top-50 Most Cited Article Award, Tetrahedron 2005-2008 (2008)
- Long-Term Invitation Fellowship, JSPS (2012)
- Wesley P. Lloyd Award for Distinction in Graduate Education, BYU (2017)
Director, Simmons Center for Cancer Research
The Castle Group 2021
(L to R): Diego Moya, Alexander Ramos, Concordia Lo, Daniel Joaquin,
Steven Castle, Austin LeSueur, Dakota Jones, Jatinder Singh, Tanner
Nelson, Courtney Dawes