Saturday, November 7, 2026
Sponsored by
Dr. Seemon H. Pines, Prof. Peter and Mrs. Sandra Beak, Dr. Terry M. Balthazor, Merck & Co. and the Obiter Company
2026 Conference Schedule
| Times | Agenda item |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Check-in/Continental Breakfast |
| Session I | |
| 8:30 a.m. | Opening Remarks |
| 8:50 a.m. | RUSSELL SMITH Ph.D. - Invited Industry Speaker Advancing the Medicines of Tomorrow Through Industry–Academic Innovation Partnerships |
| 9:30 a.m. | ELISIA MEYLE (PROF. MARTIN D. BURKE) Fundamental Underpinnings of Accelerated Ergosterol Extraction |
| 9:50 a.m. | ENLEYONA WEIR (PROF. WILFRED A. VAN DER DONK) One Cluster, Multiple Functions: Head-to-Tail Cyclization in Lanthipeptide Biosynthesis |
| 10:10 a.m. | Poster Session I Break for poster session and refreshments in the gallery. Talks will resume at 11:00 a.m in the library. |
| 11:00 a.m. | CHARLIE DIXON (PROF. M. CHRISTINA WHITE) Well-Caged Radical Intermediates Distinguish Non-Heme PDP Catalysts from Porphyrin Oxidants in Aliphatic C–H Hydroxylation |
| 11:20 a.m. | NICK WADE (PROF. SCOTT E. DENMARK) Boronic Ester Design Enables Rapid, Stereospecific B-Alkyl Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling |
| 11:40 a.m. | Break |
| 11:50 a.m. | Lunch in the Main Dining Room — Group I Tables will be assigned to each person previously. Tables will be seated and called to go through the buffet. |
| 12:40 p.m. | Lunch in the Main Dining Room — Group II Tables will be assigned to each person previously. Tables will be seated and called to go through the buffet. |
| Session II | |
| 1:40 p.m. | HARSHIKA VARADHAN (PROF. JEFFERSON CHAN) Investigating the Effects of NO-Mediated ALDH1A1 Inhibition on Cancer Aggression |
| 2:00 p.m. | JOSHUA LEUNG (PROF. LIVIU M. MIRICA) Directed Ni-Catalyzed C(sp²)–H Hydroxylation of Arenes |
| 2:20 p.m. | FAITH KERN (PROF. JEFFREY S. MOORE) Pendant Mechanophores Reveal the Molecular Basis for Deformation-Activated Mechanochemistry in Glassy Polymers |
| 2:40 p.m. | Poster Session II Poster session and refreshments. Talks will resume at 3:30 p.m. |
| 3:30 p.m. | SOPHIE MAZURE (PROF. MICHAEL J. STRAUSS) Photoinduced C–S Cleavage in Thiols and Oligopeptides to Initiate Controlled Radical Polymerization |
| 3:50 p.m. | RACHEL SCHAAF (PROF. PAUL J. HERGENROTHER) Implementation of P-gp Efflux-Evading Guidelines to Identify Blood-Brain Barrier-Penetrant Kinase Inhibitors |
| 4:10 p.m. | Break |
| 4:30 p.m. | Closing Remarks and Presentation of the Seemon H. Pines Award, Verbanac Awards, and Terry Balthazor Awards |
The annual Beak-Pines Organic Area Allerton Conference is held at beautiful Allerton Park, an English-style estate located approximately 20 miles southwest of Champaign. At this conference one student from each organic chemistry research group presents their work in the old library of the Robert Allerton House. Two more students from each group present their work in the form of a poster. Lunch is enjoyed in the grand dining hall, and after lunch free time is used to wander through the more than 5,000 acres of forest and prairie along the Sangamon River. The park features formal English gardens and over 100 outdoor sculptures. At the end of the day, the Seemon Pines award is given to the most outstanding presentation.