Sophie Rousseaux

Sophie Rousseaux is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Organic Chemistry since 2016. Her group’s research interests include the use of synthetic chemistry and transition metal catalysis for the preparation and derivatization of biologically active small rings and nitrile-containing building blocks. Her work has been recognized with several awards including a Sloan Research Fellowship (2021), an Ontario Early Researcher Award (2021), and the Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty Science Award of Excellence (2020).

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Sophie's research program focuses on developing enabling and transformative synthetic methods to access medicinally relevant small molecules in a more efficient (e.g., less waste, fewer steps) and/or safer (e.g., non-toxic reagents/waste) manner. She focuses on new reactivity using Ni-catalysis. My group takes advantage of the unique 1-electron (1e) chemistry available to Ni to explore under-developed and exciting areas of this field. The methods her group has developed focus on the synthesis and functionalization of cyclopropane- and nitrile-containing molecules, since these are important motifs in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries.