The study of organic chemistry focuses on creating chemical compounds that impact our lives as pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, materials, and polymers, using carbon as the central element. Fundamentally, research in this area develops efficient ways to create structurally diverse and valuable chemical compounds from cheap and abundant precursors. Despite extensive and ongoing research in this area, there are still limitations in terms of cost and practicality associated with the production of many important organic compounds and materials. The study of Organic Chemistry can enable a greater understanding of the structure, properties, and function of carbon-containing compounds toward the goal of designing next-generation solutions to societal challenges and increasing our knowledge about the chemistry of life.

Faculty at UVA pursue these goals in an interdisciplinary way, combining concepts from catalysis, drug discovery, materials chemistry, organometallic chemistry, and chemical biology to develop fundamentally new bond-forming processes and methodologies. Using reaction development, structural optimization, biocompatibility strategies, and labeling techniques, researchers are discovering efficient chemical transformations, therapeutic treatments, benign soft materials, and biological signaling pathways. For more information on current research underway in the various labs visit their faculty websites below.