Jeffrey N. Johnston

Jeffrey N. Johnston is a Stevenson Professor of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on asymmetric catalysis, synthetic organic chemistry, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and the synthesis of biologically active molecules. He is a member of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, where his research integrates organic synthesis with chemical biology and drug discovery. Johnston received the 2014 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society for contributions to organic chemistry. His research includes advancing catalytic asymmetric synthesis through the development of chiral proton catalysts and other catalytic methods that have found applications in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

Early life and education Johnston earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Xavier University in 1992. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from The Ohio State University in 1997, where he conducted research in synthetic organic chemistry under Leo A. Paquette. He worked as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University in asymmetric synthesis and catalytic reaction development.

Career Johnston joined the faculty of Indiana University in 1999 as an assistant professor of chemistry. He joined Vanderbilt University in 2006 as Professor of Chemistry. In 2011 he was appointed Stevenson Professor of Chemistry.

Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS)

Selected publications