François Diederich
Encyclopedia
Professor François Diederich (born 9 July 1952 in Ettelbruck
) is a Luxembourg
ian chemist
specialising in organic chemistry
. He obtained both his diploma and PhD from the University of Heidelberg in 1977 and 1979, respectively. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. Chapman at the University of California, Los Angeles
and habilitation at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, he became Full Professor at UCLA in 1989. In 1992 he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry
at ETH Zurich
.
phenomena in chemistry
and biology
. This includes structure-based design of lead compounds for a number of targets such as plasmepsin
II (malaria
), t-RNA guanine transglycosylase (shigellosis
), trypanothione
reductase (African sleeping sickness), and catechol-O-methyl transferase
(COMT, Parkinson's disease
). In the supramolecular research program, functionalized dendrimers are used as nano-sized functional molecules. Examples include artificial enzymes or hosts for molecular recognition as well as self-assembling transfection agents. Development of advanced functional materials is addressed by the design of fullerene
-based molecular building blocks and carbon-rich acetylenic molecular architectures. His research group consists of over 30 PhD and postdoctoral students.
Medal of the Max Planck Society
(1979), the Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1987), the ACS
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1992), the Otto-Bayer-Preis für Chemie (1993), the Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis (2000) and the Havinga Medal (2000). Diederich was the Myron L. Bender
& Muriel S. Bender Distinguished Summer Lecturer at Northwestern University
in 2004. He received the Humboldt Research Prize (2005), the Burkhard-Helferich Prize (2005), and the August Wilhelm von Hofmann
-Denkmünze (2006). He is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (BBAW), and the Real Academia Española
de Ciencias.
Ettelbruck
Ettelbruck is a commune with city status in central Luxembourg, with a population of approximately 7,500. As of 2005, the town of Ettelbruck itself, which lies in the east of the commune, has a population of 6,191. The town of Warken and Grentzingen are also within the commune...
) is a Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
ian chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
specialising in organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
. He obtained both his diploma and PhD from the University of Heidelberg in 1977 and 1979, respectively. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. Chapman at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and habilitation at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, he became Full Professor at UCLA in 1989. In 1992 he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
.
Research interests
His research interests cover a wide range of topics. A multi-dimensional approach is used to study molecular recognitionMolecular recognition
The term molecular recognition refers to the specific interaction between two or more molecules through noncovalent bonding such as hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, hydrophobic forces, van der Waals forces, π-π interactions, electrostatic and/or electromagnetic effects...
phenomena in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. This includes structure-based design of lead compounds for a number of targets such as plasmepsin
Plasmepsin
Plasmepsins are a class of at least 10 enzymes produced by the plasmodium parasite. There are ten different isoforms of these proteins and ten genes coding them respectively in plasmodium falciparum . It has been suggested that the plasmpesin family is smaller in other human plasmodium species...
II (malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
), t-RNA guanine transglycosylase (shigellosis
Shigellosis
Shigellosis, also known as bacillary dysentery or Marlow Syndrome, in its most severe manifestation, is a foodborne illness caused by infection by bacteria of the genus Shigella. Shigellosis rarely occurs in animals other than humans and other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees...
), trypanothione
Trypanothione
Trypanothione is an unusual form of glutathione containing two molecules of glutathione joined by a spermidine linker. It is found in parasitic protozoa such as leishmania and trypanosomes. These protozoal parasites are the cause of leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease....
reductase (African sleeping sickness), and catechol-O-methyl transferase
Catechol-O-methyl transferase
Catechol-O-methyltransferase is one of several enzymes that degrade catecholamines such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. In humans, catechol-O-methyltransferase protein is encoded by the COMT gene...
(COMT, Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
). In the supramolecular research program, functionalized dendrimers are used as nano-sized functional molecules. Examples include artificial enzymes or hosts for molecular recognition as well as self-assembling transfection agents. Development of advanced functional materials is addressed by the design of fullerene
Fullerene
A fullerene is any molecule composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. Spherical fullerenes are also called buckyballs, and they resemble the balls used in association football. Cylindrical ones are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes...
-based molecular building blocks and carbon-rich acetylenic molecular architectures. His research group consists of over 30 PhD and postdoctoral students.
Honors and awards
He has received the Otto HahnOtto Hahn
Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
Medal of the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
(1979), the Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1987), the ACS
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1992), the Otto-Bayer-Preis für Chemie (1993), the Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis (2000) and the Havinga Medal (2000). Diederich was the Myron L. Bender
Myron L. Bender
Myron Lee Bender was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He obtained his B.S. and his Ph.D. from Purdue University. The latter was under the direction of Henry B. Hass. After postdoctoral research under Paul D. Barlett , and Frank H. Westheimer , he spent one year as a faculty member at the...
& Muriel S. Bender Distinguished Summer Lecturer at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 2004. He received the Humboldt Research Prize (2005), the Burkhard-Helferich Prize (2005), and the August Wilhelm von Hofmann
August Wilhelm von Hofmann
August Wilhelm von Hofmann was a German chemist.-Biography:Hofmann was born at Gießen, Grand Duchy of Hesse. Not intending originally to devote himself to physical science, he first took up the study of law and philology at Göttingen. But he then turned to chemistry, and studied under Justus von...
-Denkmünze (2006). He is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (BBAW), and the Real Academia Española
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
de Ciencias.
Books
- Diederich, F.; Stang, P. J.; Tykwinski, R. R. (Eds.) "Acetylene Chemistry”, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2004.
- Diederich, F.; de Meijere, A. (Eds.) "Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions II”, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2004.
- Diederich, F.; Stang, P. J. (Eds.) "Templated Organic Synthesis", Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1999.
- Diederich, F.; Künzer, H. "Recent Trends in Molecular Recognition", Springer, Berlin 1998.
- Diederich, F.; Stang, P. J. (Eds.) "Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions", Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1998.
- Diederich, F.; Stang, P. J. (Eds.) "Modern Acetylene Chemistry", VCH, Weinheim, 1995.