Luiz Paulo M. Leão
Postdoctoral Researcher — Florida State University
Luiz Paulo Melchior de Oliveira Leão
Postdoctoral Scholar, Ph.D.
📍Tallahassee, FL, USA
📧lmo24b@fsu.edu
📞(+1) 448-230-0356
🎓IQ/UNICAMP, 2024
🇧🇷From Alfenas, MG, Brazil
Organic Synthesis
Medicinal Chemistry
Total Synthesis
Pd-Catalysis
Heck-Matsuda Rxn
Drug Design
Biography
Luiz Paulo Melchior de Oliveira Leão was born in Alfenas, in January 1994. The son of a administrative assistant worker and a horticulturist, he learned from an early age the importance of knowledge and the value of life. Growing up next to the Federal University of Alfenas, he was surrounded by the city’s academic environment, where he later completed his bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology.
Passionate about Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry, he became deeply captivated by the beauty of science and pursued his early scientific training in organic synthesis, with a focus on total synthesis and medicinal chemistry. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in 2020 from the same institution under the supervision of Danielle F. Dias, working on the synthesis of potentially bioactive natural product analogues.
In 2020, he continued his trajectory in organic synthesis by undertaking his Ph.D. at IQ/UNICAMP under the supervision of Carlos Roque Duarte Correia, where he worked on the development of enantioselective synthetic methodologies for the Heck–Matsuda reaction. After defending his thesis in 2024, he began his postdoctoral research at Florida State University under the supervision of Joel M. Smith, supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Academic Education
2020–2024
Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry
Universidade Estadual de Campinas — IQ/UNICAMP
Thesis: Development of new enantioselective methodologies for the Heck-Matsuda reaction: capture of σ-alkyl palladium complexes and in situ diazotization. Supervisor: Prof. Carlos Roque Duarte Correia.
2018–2020
M.Sc. in Chemistry — Organic Synthesis
Universidade Federal de Alfenas — UNIFAL
Synthesis of potentially bioactive natural product analogues. Supervisor: Prof. Danielle F. Dias.
2014–2018
B.Sc. in Biotechnology, focus on Chemistry
Universidade Federal de Alfenas — UNIFAL
Focus on organic and biochemistry. Graduated June 2018.
Professional Experience
Oct 2024–Aug 2026
Postdoctoral Scholar — SmithLab
Florida State University, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Enantioselective Pd-catalyzed methodologies and total synthesis of complex heterocyclic natural products. NIH-funded. Supervisor: Prof. Joel M. Smith.
Awards & Distinctions
2022
Best Poster — 18th BMOS
Best poster presentation at the 18th Brazilian Meeting on Organic Synthesis (Tiradentes, MG). Work: The 2nd Generation of the in Tandem Enantioselective Heck-Matsuda Reaction Directly from Anilines.
2021
1st Place — Organic Chemistry, OBESQ 2021
First place in the field of Organic Chemistry at the Brazilian Higher Education Chemistry Olympiad 2021.
2013
Scholarship — Jovens Talentos para a Ciência
CNPq/CAPES 2013 Young Talent Researchers Program scholarship.