Abstract: 

My Ph.D. research has focused on the development of transition metal–catalyzed methods for the selective functionalization of strained intermediates to access nitrogen-containing heterocycles. This work includes ligand-controlled, regiodivergent rhodium-catalyzed hydroacylation of 2-azetines, mechanistic investigations integrating experimental and computational approaches to elucidate the origins of selectivity, and copper-catalyzed hydroamination of transient aza-cyclic allenes to afford functionalized aminopiperidines with high regioselectivity. Collectively, these studies demonstrate how catalyst design and mechanistic insight can be leveraged to control reactivity and enable the synthesis of valuable heterocyclic scaffolds.