From January 2023 to April 2023, I carried out extracurricular internships in the R&D department of the company KINSY, where I gained diverse experience in the development, scaling, and commercial production of fine chemicals—mainly focused on the development and manufacture of key pharmaceutical intermediates and APIs under cGMP conditions.

From September 2022 to May 2023, I completed my Bachelor’s thesis in the SOCUMU research group at the University of Murcia. The project was titled “Synthesis of activated esters and their application in the synthesis of rotaxanes.” I received the Best Bachelor’s Thesis Award from the Villapharma Chair of Medicinal Chemistry. The experience gave me broad training in various areas of organic chemistry, especially in the synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecules using activated esters and acid chlorides.

In 2024, I completed my Master’s thesis in the FRONCAT research group at the Autonomous University of Madrid, focusing on electrochemical generation of acyl radicals from alcohols, using NHPI as an electrocatalyst. This research involved the use of alcohols as precursors for carbon-centered radicals and led to the publication of a research article in a high-impact journal.

After finishing the Master, I was working for 9 months in the FRONCAT group as a research assistant. My work focused on developing new electrochemical methodologies, especially evaluating the use of electrons as reagents for sustainable asymmetric organocatalytic processes.

I hope to expand my knowledge in sustainable photochemical methodologies, with the goal of applying them to large-scale industrial production. I am also particularly interested in late-stage functionalization techniques, as they allow the selective modification of highly functionalized molecules.

Doing the PhD within the PIA project will allow me to acquire specialized skills in synthetic methodologies, both electro- and photochemical, preparing me for a future in industrial research and development—particularly in the pharmaceutical or fine chemicals sector.

In my free time, I really enjoy both playing and watching sports—especially football, padel, and tennis. I also like to cook, which helps me relax and clear my mind.

Title: Photocatalytic (Csp3)-H functionalization of N-alkylic amides for the late-stage modification of advance scaffolds (WP1)

Summary: The main objective of this individual research project will focus on the mild and selective functionalization of commonly occurring amide moieties in bioactive compounds, aiming at providing new methodologies for the fast and efficient activity-modulation of promising structures towards new leads (Universität Münster, Germany) . In the second step, the methodologies will be applied to improve the synthesis route in the projects at Synthelia Organics (Spain) focused on the implementation of new approaches that will permit effective and reproducible scaling-up synthesis.

Work package: 1

Academic host institution: Universität Münster (Germany)

Academic main supervisor: Olga García Mancheño

Industrial host institution: Synthelia Organics (Spain)

Industrial main supervisor: Francisco Tato

Industrial co-supervisor: Gustavo Pascual