Gen Li
Incoming Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Gen earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Fudan University. He then completed his Ph.D. with Professor Alex Radosevich at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022, where he developed organic methodologies based on P(III)/P(V) redox cycling catalysis. Following his doctoral training, he joined Professor Chris Chang’s group as a Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and moved with the group to Princeton University in 2024. There, he applied bioorganic, chemical biology, and proteomics approaches to investigate the roles of small molecules and metal ions in cellular systems. Gen joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 2026.
Our group focuses on developing chemical strategies to precisely manipulate biomolecular structure, reactivity, and signaling in living systems, enabling new approaches to interrogate and control complex biological processes. These advances will advance chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and translational research by addressing fundamental biological questions and unmet biomedical needs.
Our research aims to
1) develop novel synthetic chemistry and probes to selectively modulate protein function and cellular pathways
2) create next-generation chemical tools for imaging, sensing, and perturbing biological systems with high spatiotemporal precision
3) design bioorthogonal and programmable platforms for studying dynamic biomolecular interactions in vitro and in vivo.
Specializations
Organic, Catalysis, Chemical Biology, Proteomics, Cell Biology
Representative Publications
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MJ3J0yIAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN
Li, Y.†; Li, G.†* (*corresponding author, †equal contribution); Li, E. L.; Kim, J.; Chang, C. J.* An Inverse Electron-Demand Diels–Alder Approach to Selective Activity-Based Sensing of Acetaldehyde in Living Cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 37912
Xie, X.†; Li, G.† (†equal contribution); Pezacki, A. T.; Gao, J.; Oi, M.; Chang, C. J. An Alkyne-Directed Cleavage Approach for Activity-Based Cu(I) Sensing Reveals Metal-Metal Crosstalk in Cuproptosis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 34564
Li, G.; Lavagnino, M.; Ali, S.; Hu, S.; Radosevich, A. T. Tandem C/N-Difunctionalization of Nitroarenes: Reductive Amination and Annulation by a Ring Expansion/Contraction Sequence. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 41
Li, G.†; Kanda, Y.†; Hong, S. Y.; Radosevich, A. T. Enabling Reductive C–N Cross-Coupling of Nitroalkanes and Boronic Acids by Steric Design of P(III)/P(V)=O Catalysts. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 8242 (†equal contribution)
Li, G.; Miller, S. P.; Radosevich, A. T. P(III)/P(V)=O-Catalyzed Intermolecular N–N Bond Formation: Cross-Selective Reductive Coupling of Nitroarenes and Anilines. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 14464
Lipshultz, J. M.†; Li, G.† (†equal contribution); Radosevich, A. T. Main Group Redox Catalysis of Organopnictogens: Periodic Trends and Emerging Opportunities in Group 15. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 1699
Li, G.; Qin, Z.; Radosevich, A. T. P(III)/P(V)-Catalyzed Methylamination of Arylboronic Acids (Esters) By Reductive C–N Coupling of Nitromethane as a Methylamine Surrogate. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 16205
Li, G.; Nykaza, T. V.; Cooper, J. C.; Ramirez, A.; Luzung, M. R.; Radosevich, A. T. An Improved P(III)/P(V)=O Catalyzed Reductive C–N Coupling of Nitroaromatics and Boronic Acids by Mechanistic Differentiation of Rate- and Product-Determining Steps. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 6786
Nykaza, T. V.†; Li, G.† (†equal contribution); Yang J.; Luzung, M. R.; Radosevich, A. T. P(III)/P(V)=O-Catalyzed Cascade Synthesis of N-Functionalized Azaheterocycles. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 4505