Grant: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral

The complex structure and strong biological activities of compounds belonging to the aspidosperma plant family have proven to be toxic to cancer cells, without having adverse effects on normal cells, unlike traditional chemotherapy. Developing new inexpensive and environmentally benign methods to synthesize these compunds will make them accessible to all populations, while preserving the environment and the natural ressource bearing the anticancer compound. As an example, the chemical synthesis of Taxol, a powerful anticancer drug, has allowed lowering the cost of this drug, while preserving the Pacific Yew tree from which it was originally extracted. The present research proposal aims at developing new more effective ways to synthesise compounds from the aspidosperma plant family, using an environmentally bening reageant.