Richmond Sarpong

Richmond Sarpong (born April 23, 1974, in Bechem, Ghana) Sarpong works on natural product total synthesis to better understand biological systems and allow for the development of novel therapeutics. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017, and to the National Academy of Science in 2025. He serves on the editorial boards of Organic Syntheses, Accounts of Chemical Research and Synlett.

Early life Sarpong was born in Bechem, Ghana on April 23, 1974, and spent his early childhood in Bolgatanga. His mother is a teacher, and his father a medical doctor who also holds a master's degree in public health. It was during his childhood that Sarpong first became interested in chemistry, when he saw how effective the drug ivermectin was in combatting river blindness (onchocerciasis). Ivermectin was being distributed in Africa by Merck free of charge, and Sarpong's father worked with the World Health Organization to aid in the distribution of the drug. In Botswana, Sarpong attended the Maru-a-Pula School, where he was introduced to organic chemistry by his teacher Dr. Ramakrishna. Having this additional mentor encouraged Sarpong to pursue a career in chemistry, despite having an offer from a premedical program at a British university. Sarpong received his Ph.D. in 2001.

Sarpong moved to the California Institute of Technology where he joined the laboratory of Prof. Brian Stoltz as a UNCF-Pfizer Postdoctoral fellow. At Caltech, he worked alongside then-graduate student Neil Garg to complete the first total synthesis of the phosphate inhibitor dragmacidin D. Sarpong also developed a novel tandem Wolff/Cope rearrangement to synthesize fused ring molecules.

Research and career In 2004, Sarpong started his independent scientific career at the University of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2010 and full Professor in 2014.

The Sarpong group specialize in the synthesis of bioactive organic molecules, with a focus on the natural products of flora and fauna. He has developed new synthesis strategies for alkaloids, a family of natural medicines that includes quinine and morphine. Sarpong is committed to improving diversity within the chemistry community, and has supported many scholars in the early stages of their academic careers. 2015 Royal Society of Chemistry Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award 2015 Arthur C. Cope Award 2016 Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship 2019 Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry Japan (SSOJC) Mukaiyama Award 2020 Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2025 Inhoffen Medal (Inhoffen-Medaille) 2025 Member, National Academy of Science