Chemistry

Biographical Info

Kaibo completed his undergraduate education at Nanjing University. After receiving his B.S. in 2013, he pursued his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Prof. M. Christina White’s research group. During his time at Illinois, he developed strategies enabling the late-stage incorporation of hydroxyl, amino, and methyl groups into nitrogen-containing molecules with small-molecule base-metal catalysts. Kaibo obtained his Ph.D. in 2020 and subsequently joined the group of Prof. Stephen L. Buchwald at MIT as a postdoctoral associate. His research at MIT focused on developing new strategies and catalysts for the amination of heteroaryl halides. He joined the chemistry faculty at the University of Florida as an assistant professor in 2024.

The Feng group is dedicated to addressing enduring synthetic challenges and developing transformative reactions with the aid of transition-metal and organocatalysts. With these new methods, our goal is to readily derivatize natural products and biologically active small molecules at late stages with controllable selectivities. At the heart of our research interests is the innovation of strategies to introduce new functional groups, facilitating rapid access to derivatives of medicinally interesting compounds. Members of the Feng group will develop expertise in areas including organic synthesis, asymmetric catalysis, and organometallic chemistry.