Patrick Harran

Patrick Harran (born 13 July 1969) is an American organic chemist who has held the D. J. & J. M. Cram Chair in Organic Chemistry, an endowed chair at the University of California, Los Angeles, since 2008. Prior to taking this position he was a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Harran was educated at Skidmore College graduating in 1990. He went on to Yale University, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1995. A California Division of Occupational Safety and Health report faulted Harran for willfully neglecting safety protocols. He was charged with four felony counts in the first criminal case stemming from a laboratory accident in U.S. history, but avoided jailtime through a plea deal with prosecutors, which was finalized in 2018. In 2015, the AAAS Chemistry Section nominated, but then did not proceed with the nomination of Harran for AAAS Fellow, after concerns about the Sangji case were raised by the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety.

Research Harran's research is focused on the total synthesis of natural products, design of novel chemical compounds to study protein–protein interactions, and medicinal chemistry.

Awards and honors Sources: J. Clarence Karcher Medal, University of Oklahoma, 17 March 2017 Hanson-Dow Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2013 Glenn T. Seaborg Award - Alpha Chi Sigma, 2009 Norman Hackerman Prize of the Robert A. Welch Foundation, 2007 E. Bright Wilson Prize - Harvard University, 2005 Merck Research Laboratories Chemistry Council Award, 2005-2007 Mar Nell and F. Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair, 2005 Pfizer Award for Creativity in Organic Synthesis, 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award, Skidmore College, 2003 Eli Lilly Grantee, 2003-2004 AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award, 2002 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 2002-2004 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2000-2004 National Research Service Award, Stanford University, 1995-1997 Bristol-Myers Squibb Research Fellow, Yale University, 1993 American Institute of Chemists Award, Skidmore College, 1990 Highest Departmental Honors in Chemistry, Skidmore College, 1990 One Year Advanced Admission, Skidmore College, 1986

Laboratory fire

On December 29, 2008, a fire in Harran's UCLA laboratory fatally burned research assistant Sheri Sangji. Harran in 2011 was charged with four felony counts of willfully violating occupational safety standards in the case, carrying a maximum jail term of 4.5 years. It was the first time any American academic had been criminally charged for a laboratory accident. Representatives of Harran, and the university's Board of Regents who were also charged in the incident, disputed the charges.

Harran and prosecutors in 2014 reached a deferred prosecution agreement in which Harran was ordered to pay $10,000 to a local burn center and do 800 hours of community service. Deputy District Attorney Craig W. Hum said that the penalty was similar to any sentence Harran would have received if convicted, while Sangji's family criticized it as "barely a slap on the wrist".