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Synthetic Organic Chemistry:
Young Chemists Seeking Breakthroughs M-1
Synthetic organic chemistry will continue to play a pivotal role in the field of medicinal sciences in
the 21st century through the efficient synthesis of medicines and the creation of leading compounds for
new pharmaceuticals and chemical probes for life science research. To comply with requests to speed
up and diversify research as well as the need for environmentally benign synthesis, further improvement
of synthetic organic chemistry with innovative ideas is desired. Expected to play a leadership role in
achieving this goal are young chemists seeking breakthroughs. In this series of annual symposia, young
chemists in either academia or the private sector are invited to present their recent research results. This
year, eight will speak on two topics, "Transition metal-catalyzed organic syntheses" and "Practical medi-
cinal chemistry," both of which have made great progress recently. Discussion of current problems and
future perspectives is expected from the audience.
Advanced Research on Natural Products
What are "natural medicine" ? Many people would answer that medicinal plants or traditional Chi-
nese medicines are a major part of natural medicine. While those still have important roles as natural
medicine, advanced research on natural medicines that differ from traditional ones is being actively pro-
moted. In this symposium, we introduce research on candidates for medicine from new resources such
as marine invertebrates or marine microorganisms. The biosynthesis of plant constituents is explained
using newly developed genetic manipulation technology. We also introduce the creation of "artificial nat-
ural products" through mutagenesis of the biosynthetic pathway.
Organizers: Tomofumi Miyamoto (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University)
Masashi Tsuda (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University)
Organizers: Shuji Akai (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University)
Munetaka