The Pradhan Lab explores fundamental problems in modern organic synthesis and catalysis, with a strong emphasis on creating molecules and functional materials relevant to biological and materials science applications. Organic synthesis offers unmatched potential to build complex structures, yet achieving high efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability in these transformations remains a central challenge. Our research tackles these issues by integrating metal- and/or organo-catalysis, photoinduced processes, and mechanism guided development to uncover new chemical reactivity. A major thrust of the group is the design of innovative reagents and synthetic routes capable of driving previously inaccessible transformations under mild and efficient conditions.

Students in the group will gain comprehensive training in advanced synthetic techniques and broad variety of analytical techniques. Computational chemistry will play an integral part in shaping our mechanistic understanding and guiding the design of catalysts and functional molecules.