Press Release
Undergraduate’s Research Leads to Further Studies in a Nobel Prize Winning Process
02/04/2019, Cedar City, Utah
Garett Ruesch, a chemistry undergraduate at SUU, spent over 400 hours in the summer of 2018 doing research on the Nobel Prize winning Sonogashira Cross-Coupling Reaction. Accepted by the Gibson Fellowship he spent countless hours striving to better the metal coordination complex that drives this famous reaction forward. Under the tutelage of Professor Nathan Werner, PhD, he was able to make the first steps towards novel discoveries in the pharmaceutical and fine chemical field. Discoveries that could greatly benefit common synthesis of certain narcotics and lead to higher quality, and cost-effective medications. His work has led to a significant growth in hypotheses on the matter that will drive research even further in SUU’s undergraduate research programs. In fact Garett, along with two other students under Professor Werner are lined up to, funded by the Gibson Fellowship, continue this and other research this coming summer of 2019.
The Sonogashira Cross-Coupling reaction has many applications, from pharmaceuticals and natural products to nanoparticles. A specific example is the synthesis of tazarotene, a narcotic used in the treatment of psoriasis and acne. The downfall of the process is the cost to benefit ratio. Though advantageous in many aspects, the reagents needed for the reaction are expensive. Garett’s research was to refine the selection of one of these reagents and lower the cost and efficiency of the process. His data and analysis have led to new hypotheses as to how the process might be adapted to increase its efficiency, and has also led to the discovery of a novel side reaction that was optimized by him. The results have given rise to no publications, but Professor Werner and his students aspire to achieve such in the following months.
This research was carried out under direction of the Gibson Fellowship and Southern Utah University’s EDGE Program. The Walter Maxwell Gibson endowment will fund research fellowships in SUU’s College of Science and Engineering. Each recipient has submitted a proposal that is reviewed and accepted by a council made up of SUU’s Faculty. The program provides research opportunities to students looking for graduate-level education. The EDGE program is SUU’s Experimental Education Program that has been adopted in the last decade in an effort to prepare students for the professional world. The design and execution of the program affords students hands-on opportunities to gain practical experience while achieving a deep and rich understanding of the process of researching, planning, proposing, completing, and reflecting on a rigorous academic experience.
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Garett Ruesch 1148 Northfield Rd Unit 1
(435) 590-7390 Cedar City, UT
garett.ruesch@gmail.com 84721