About Josh
Joshua Sieber was introduced to chemical research initially as an undergraduate at Penn State University in the laboratories of Prof. Ayusman Sen. He received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Penn State University with Honors in Chemistry in 2003. He then pursued a PhD degree in Chemistry working in the laboratories of Prof. James Morken initially at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed by Boston College. His graduate work focused on the development and application of catalytic asymmetric diboration and conjugate allylation reactions. After receiving his PhD degree from Boston College in 2008, he became an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Prof. Barry Trost at Stanford University where he completed the asymmetric total synthesis of Soraphen A and applied Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) reactions to natural product total synthesis. After completing his postdoctoral work in 2011, he then accepted a position as a senior scientist in the process chemistry group at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he developed scalable processes towards new pharmaceuticals and served as a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim’s Chemical Catalysis Center of Expertise developing scalable catalytic processes and new catalysts for organic synthesis. He was promoted to Principal Scientist in 2016. In 2018, he accepted his current position as assistant professor of chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research interests include development of new catalysts and catalytic methods for complex organic molecule synthesis and process chemistry.
Education
2008-2011 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fello (Advisor: Barry M. Trost)
Stanford University
2003-2008 Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry (Advisor: James P. Morken)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Boston College
1999-2003 B.S. in Chemistry with High Distinction and Honors in Chemistry
Penn State University
Professional Experience
2018-present Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Chemistry
2016-2018 Principal Scientist
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Department of Chemical Development
2011-2016 Senior Scientist
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Department of Chemical Development
Honors and Awards
2016 Boehringer Ingelheim Chemical Development Green Chemistry Award
2008-2011 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow (Stanford University)
2007 LaMattina Graduate Fellow in Organic Chemistry (Boston College)
2007 The Schering-Plough Graduate Student Award (Boston College)
2006-2007 American Chemical Society Organic Division Fellow (Boston College)
2003 Venable Award (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2002-2003 Albert H. & Van B. Holtzinger Scholarship in Science (Penn State University)
2002 Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship for Summer Undergraduate Research (Penn State University)
2002 Marion J. Eyster Scholarship (Penn State University)
2002 Evan Pugh Scholar Award (Penn State University)
2001 Academic Excellence Award (Penn State University)
Sieber Research Group 