Head of the group: Assoc. prof. Zbigniew KaÅ‚uża e-mail: [email protected] Ph.D., Institute of Organic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, 1988. Post-doc, Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), Hoboken, USA, 1989-1991. Habilitation, Institute of Organic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, 2000.

Research interest is concentrate in two major areas: stereoselective synthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids of high bioactivity and molecular design and synthesis of ligands for asymmetric catalysis. Our ongoing project is aimed at the elaboration of a general methodology for the preparation of Erythrine alkaloids, which can be also apply for the synthesis of their unnatural analogs of modified activity. We have recently reported on the synthesis of 1,2-dihydroxy-hexahydropyrrolo-isoquinolines and their conversion into highly substituted, optically pure isoquinolines, which can be used as a synthons for the preparation of isoquinoline alkaloids. A second area of emphasis is molecular design and synthesis of new ligands: β-amio alcohols containing a rigid isoquinoline skeleton, C2-symmetrical diamines and spiro-diamines derived from L-proline. The obtained ligands are currently applied to enantioselective reactions such as: transfer hydrogenation of ketones (up to 89% ee), desymmetrization of mesodiols (up to 92% ee) and Henry reaction (up to 99% ee).