M. Christina White

M. Christina White's work solved one of the most fundamental problems in chemistry: controlling reactivity at specific C—H bonds within complex molecules. In doing so, she transformed how scientists think about selectively modifying complex chemical structures. Traditionally, scientists have addressed this problem using directing groups, temporary functional handles that must be installed and then removed. This approach limits generality and rendered de novo synthesis the most common way to install new functionality in molecules. White pioneered a different approach.  She discovered that differences in the local environments near C—H bonds is sufficient to achieve their different reactivities. She established general rules based on the intrinsic steric, electronic and stereoelectronic properties of C—H bonds that can predict different selectivities for her reactions as well as for other unrelated reaction classes (e.g. electrochemistry, photoredox, metal-catalyzed HAT). This represents a paradigm shift from engineering selectivity with directing groups to predictably achieving it by leveraging underlying chemical principles.

A defining feature of White’s research is its translation into practical catalytic systems, many of which are commercially available and widely used in academia and industry. She developed reactions for C—H functionalization that leverage these rules to install oxygen, nitrogen or carbon site-selectively across diverse molecular frameworks in preparative yields. Most notably, her chemistry has been extensively used by many of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies to aid the discovery of new medicines through metabolite and novel analogue synthesis.