Scripps Research chemist Hans Renata, PhD, an associate professor, has been selected by the editorial board of the high-impact scientific journal Natural Product Reports for its annual Emerging Investigator Lectureship. The role recognizes a researcher who has made a significant contribution to a natural products-related area of the chemical sciences in their early independent career. 

In his lab, Renata devises efficient chemical techniques for recreating valuable compounds found in nature. He also studies how these compounds are naturally created, with the goal of harnessing the same enzymes and mechanisms to simplify the process of making them in the lab. He has already successfully created compounds with anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. 

“The natural world is brimming with complex chemicals that living things have developed as part of their survival mechanisms—and many of these chemicals hold important medicinal potential,” Renata says. “I see great promise in using chemistry to create synthetic versions of these compounds, which are often extremely rare in the natural world.”