Lanny Liebeskind, PhD

Research Program

Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics
Phone Number

404-727-6604
Email Address

chemll1@emory.edu

Biography

Lanny S. Liebeskind, PhD, serves as interim senior vice provost for academic affairs and is a Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Emory University. Dr. Liebeskind has been invited to present numerous lectures at universities, chemical companies and meetings throughout the world and has published over 160 research papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Liebeskind is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship.

Education

Dr. Liebeskind earned his PhD in 1976 from the University of Rochester. After obtaining his PhD, he completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and at Stanford University as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow.

Titles & Roles

Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, Department of Chemistry

Emory University
Interim Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Emory University

Research

Dr. Liebeskind's research interests center on the discovery of new reactions and the application of transition metal chemistry to challenging problems in organic synthesis.

Publications

Dr. Liebeskind served for over a decade as associate editor of the journal Organometallics published by the American Chemical Society. Dr. Liebeskind was also associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis published by Wiley and an editor of Advances in Metal–Organic Chemistry published by JAI Press.

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Rapid and Scalable Synthesis of Oxazoles Directly from Carboxylic Acids. The Journal of organic chemistry	LN Chavan, G Pashikanti, MM Goodman, LS Liebeskind	03/14/2025
Synthetic Efforts toward the Synthesis of a Fluorinated Analog of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid: Practical Synthesis of Racemic and Enantiomerically Defined 3-Fluoro-5-aminolevulinic Acid. The Journal of organic chemistry	G Pashikanti, LN Chavan, LS Liebeskind, MM Goodman	09/06/2024
Synthesis, Radiolabeling, and Biological Evaluation of the trans-Stereoisomers of 1-Amino-3-(fluoro-¹⁸F)-4-fluorocyclopentane-1-carboxylic Acid as PET Imaging Agents. ACS pharmacology & translational science	TC Pickel, G Pashikanti, RJ Voll, W Yu, Z Zhang, JA Nye, J Bacsa, JJ Olson, LS Liebeskind, MM Goodman	06/11/2021
Synthesis, Radiolabeling, and Biological Evaluation of the cis Stereoisomers of 1-Amino-3-Fluoro-4-(fluoro-¹⁸F)Cyclopentane-1-Carboxylic Acid as PET Imaging Agents. Journal of medicinal chemistry	TC Pickel, RJ Voll, W Yu, Z Wang, JA Nye, J Bacsa, JJ Olson, LS Liebeskind, MM Goodman	10/22/2020
Biased modulators of NMDA receptors control channel opening and ion selectivity. Nature chemical biology	RE Perszyk, SA Swanger, C Shelley, A Khatri, G Fernandez-Cuervo, MP Epplin, J Zhang, P Le, P Bülow, E Garnier-Amblard, PKR Gangireddy, GJ Bassell, H Yuan, DS Menaldino, DC Liotta, LS Liebeskind, SF Traynelis	02/01/2020
Esterification by Redox Dehydration Using Diselenides as Catalytic Organooxidants. The Journal of organic chemistry	TC Pickel, SM Akondi, LS Liebeskind	05/03/2019
Aerobic, Diselenide-Catalyzed Redox Dehydration: Amides and Peptides. Organic letters	SM Akondi, P Gangireddy, TC Pickel, LS Liebeskind	02/02/2018
Mechanism of Acylative Oxidation-Reduction-Condensation Reactions Using Benzoisothiazolones as Oxidant and Triethylphosphite as Stoichiometric Reductant. The Journal of organic chemistry	P Gangireddy, V Patro, L Lam, M Morimoto, LS Liebeskind	04/07/2017
Benzoisothiazolone Organo/Copper-Cocatalyzed Redox Dehydrative Construction of Amides and Peptides from Carboxylic Acids using (EtO)3P as the Reductant and O2 in Air as the Terminal Oxidant. Journal of the American Chemical Society	LS Liebeskind, P Gangireddy, MG Lindale	06/01/2016
Carboxyl activation via silylthioesterification: one-pot, two-step amidation of carboxylic acids catalyzed by non-metal ammonium salts. Tetrahedron letters	AA Lamar, LS Liebeskind	10/28/2015
Mechanistic Insights into the Aerobic Cu(I)-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of S-Acyl Thiosalicylamide Thiol Esters and Boronic Acids. Organometallics	A Varela-Álvarez, LS Liebeskind, DG Musaev	11/25/2012
In situ carboxyl activation using a silatropic switch: a new approach to amide and peptide constructions. Journal of the American Chemical Society	W Wu, Z Zhang, LS Liebeskind	09/14/2011
Stereocontrolled synthesis of α-amino-α'-alkoxy ketones by a copper-catalyzed cross-coupling of peptidic thiol esters and α-alkoxyalkylstannanes. Organic letters	H Li, A He, JR Falck, LS Liebeskind	07/15/2011
Novel synthesis and biological evaluation of enigmols as therapeutic agents for treating prostate cancer. ACS medicinal chemistry letters	EC Garnier-Amblard, SG Mays, RF Arrendale, MT Baillie, AS Bushnev, DG Culver, TJ Evers, JJ Holt, RB Howard, LS Liebeskind, DS Menaldino, MG Natchus, JA Petros, H Ramaraju, GP Reddy, DC Liotta	06/09/2011
Organometallic enantiomeric scaffolding: a strategy for the enantiocontrolled construction of regio- and stereodivergent trisubstituted piperidines from a common precursor. Journal of the American Chemical Society	H Wong, EC Garnier-Amblard, LS Liebeskind	05/18/2011
Mobilizing Cu(I) for carbon-carbon bond forming catalysis in the presence of thiolate. Chemical mimicking of metallothioneins. Journal of the American Chemical Society	Z Zhang, MG Lindale, LS Liebeskind	04/27/2011
Novel Substitutions of 1-Alkoxy- and 1-Arylsulfonyloxy-η-Allylmolybdenum Complexes. A Case for η-Alkenyl Carbene Complexes as Intermediates. Organometallics	TC Coombs, W Huang, EC Garnier-Amblard, LS Liebeskind	11/08/2010
A new reaction motif: "homo-S(N)2'-like" direct nucleophilic addition to neutral eta(3)-allylmolybdenum complexes. total synthesis of the antimalarial (+)-isofebrifugine. Journal of the American Chemical Society	W Chen, LS Liebeskind	09/09/2009
Organometallic enantiomeric scaffolding. A molybdenum-mediated intramolecular nucleophilic ketalization-demetalation cascade. Total synthesis of (+)-(1R,2S,5S,7R)-2-hydroxy-exo-brevicomin. Organic letters	B Cheng, LS Liebeskind	08/20/2009
On the Mechanism of Pd(0)-Catalyzed, Cu(I) Carboxylate-Mediated Thioorganic-Boronic Acid Desulfitative Coupling. A Non-innocent Role for Carboxylate Ligand. Organometallics	DG Musaev, LS Liebeskind	07/22/2009
Ceramide synthase inhibition by fumonisin B1 causes accumulation of 1-deoxysphinganine: a novel category of bioactive 1-deoxysphingoid bases and 1-deoxydihydroceramides biosynthesized by mammalian cell lines and animals. The Journal of biological chemistry	NC Zitomer, T Mitchell, KA Voss, GS Bondy, ST Pruett, EC Garnier-Amblard, LS Liebeskind, H Park, E Wang, MC Sullards, AH Merrill, RT Riley	02/20/2009
Organometallic enantiomeric scaffolding. Sequential semipinacol/1,5-"Michael-like" reactions as a strategic approach to bridgehead-quaternary center aza[3.3.1]bicyclics: application to the total synthesis of (-)-adaline. Journal of the American Chemical Society	TC Coombs, Y Zhang, EC Garnier-Amblard, LS Liebeskind	01/28/2009
Synthesis of high enantiopurity N-protected alpha-amino ketones by thiol ester-organostannane cross-coupling using pH-neutral conditions. Organic letters	H Li, H Yang, LS Liebeskind	10/02/2008
N-amidation by copper-mediated cross-coupling of organostannanes or boronic acids with o-acetyl hydroxamic acids. Organic letters	Z Zhang, Y Yu, LS Liebeskind	07/17/2008
Organometallic enantiomeric scaffolding: general access to 2-substituted oxa- and azabicyclo[3.2.1]octenes via a Brønsted acid catalyzed [5 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. Journal of the American Chemical Society	EC Garnier, LS Liebeskind	06/11/2008
A simple, modular synthesis of substituted pyridines. Journal of the American Chemical Society	S Liu, LS Liebeskind	06/04/2008
Practical, scalable, high-throughput approaches to eta3-pyranyl and eta3-pyridinyl organometallic enantiomeric scaffolds using the Achmatowicz reaction. The Journal of organic chemistry	TC Coombs, MD Lee, H Wong, M Armstrong, B Cheng, W Chen, AF Moretto, LS Liebeskind	02/01/2008

Awards

Dr. Liebeskind is the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher–Scholar Award, Alexander von Humbolt Senior Scientist Research Award, Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award from SUNY Buffalo, Herty Award of the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society, and the 2006 Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society. He was elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2015.