Zachary
Sercel

Dr. Zachary Sercel is an Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellow in the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Ilan Marek.

Zachary’s research interests lie at the intersection of target-oriented organic synthesis and the development of synthetic methodologies.

His current research centres on the development of new chemical transformations for the expansion of small rings of carbon atoms bearing many attached substituents or molecular parts. These transformations will facilitate the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and natural products with high 3-dimensional complexity, potentially providing more effective ways of treating diseases with fewer side effects.

Zachary was born and raised in Pasadena, California. He completed his BSc in chemistry at California State University, Los Angeles, conducting research with Prof. Matthias Selke. He completed his PhD in chemistry at Caltech where he studied the total synthesis of the marine natural product aleutianamine and the development of novel reaction methodologies in the laboratory of Prof. Brian Stoltz. During graduate school, Zachary also studied porphyrinoid synthesis as a research intern at the Technion with Prof. Zeev Gross. Outside of the organic chemistry laboratory, Zachary enjoys hiking, learning languages, and restoring vintage fountain pens.