NAME: Liu, Guokai

POSITION TITLE: Assistant Professor; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen University Health Science Center

EDUCATION/TRAINING

A.   Personal Statement

I received my Master’s Degree from the Chengdu Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, I worked at Kanbi PharmaTech Co. Ltd (Beijing) as a Researcher and Group Leader, and Epoch Biosciences (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd as the Manager of the R&D Division. In 2009, I joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and worked with Professor Albert S. C. Chan until moving to Japan for my PhD in 2009. From 2010 to 2013, I was awarded a Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from MEXT (Japanese Government Scholarship) and studied for my PhD under the supervision of Professor Norio Shibata at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan. My PhD degree was awarded in 2013. After obtaining my PhD, I joined the Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and worked with Professor Henry N.C. Wong to create the Shenzhen Center of Novel Functional Molecules, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Chemical Synthesis of Medicinal Organic Small Molecules.

I have devoted my research to the design and synthesis of small molecule drugs, especially fluorine-containing pharmaceuticals and biologically active compounds with potential medicinal value. I have also researched organofluorine chemistry , organic catalysis and asymmetric synthesis. My current research focus is on the design and synthesis of anti-cancer and anti-diabetic drugs. I have published 10 journal papers, including Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Org. Lett., Adv. Synth. Catal. , hosted and participated in research grants including those awarded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China , the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation , the Science and Technology Foundation of Shenzhen and Start-up funding of SZU. In 2014, I was recognized as Overseas High-Caliber Personnel by the Shenzhen government (Peacock Plan Awardee).

B.   Positions and Honors

Positions and Employment

07/2004–12/2004        Researcher, Group Leader, Kanbi PharmaTech Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.

				01/2005 – 12/2008      Researcher, Manager of R&D Division, Epoch Biosciences Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China.

0 2 /20 09 – 09 /20 09        R esearch Associate, Research with Prof. Albert S. C. Chan, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HK, Ch ina .

10 /20 09 – 03/20 10       Research associate, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan.

0 5 /201 3 – 10 /201 3        researcher, Shenzhen Center of Novel Functional Molecules, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Chemical Synthesis of Medicinal Organic Small Molecules, Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Shenzhen, China

1 1/201 3 – present       Assistant professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen University Health Science Center.

C.   Research Support

Ongoing Research Support

Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (grant no. 2015A030310285)

                                                                                                      08/01/2018 to 08/10/2018

Guokai Liu, PI                                                                                     ￥100,000 (direct cost)

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission grant (Grant No.JCYJ20160308110354332)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          07/13/2017 to 07/12/2018

Guokai Liu, PI                                                                                                            ￥300,000

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission grant (Grant No. JCYJ20170818143001461)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 04/01/2017 to 03/31/2020

Guokai Liu, PI                                                                                                             ￥500,000

Completed Research Support

Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen University (grant no. 827000072)             01/01/2015 to 12/31/2017

Guokai Liu, PI                                                                                                            ￥2,700,000 (direct cost)

D.    publications (*: corresponding author , ^# : co -first author )

1.         Qinxin Lou^#；Yuyang Ding^#( contributed equally)；Dengfeng Xu； Guokai Liu* and Junling Zhao*,

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Dihydropyranoindole Derivatives Bearing Trifluoromethylated All-Carbon-Substituted Stereocenters, Adv. Synth. Catal.2017, 359, 2557 – 2563.

2.         Xin Wang^# ; Guokai Liu^# (co-first author); Xiu-Hua Xu; Naoyuki Shibata; Etsuko Tokunaga; Norio Shibata*, S-((Phenylsulfonyl)difluoromethyl)thiophenium Salts: Carbon- Selective Electrophilic Difluoromethylation of b-Ketoesters,b-Diketones, and Dicyanoalkylidenes, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed, 2014, 53(7):1827~1831

3.         Guokai Liu; Xin Wang; Xu Lu; Xiu-Hua Xu; Etsuko Tokunaga; Norio Shibata*, Selective O-Difluoromethylation of 1,3-Diones byBromodifluoromethylating Reagents, Org. Lett., 2013, 15(5): 1044~1047.

4.         Xiu-Hua Xu; Misaki Taniguchi; Ayaka Azuma; Guokai Liu; Etsuko Tokunaga; and Norio Shibata*, Remote Anionic Fries Rearrangement of Sulfonates: Regioselective Synthesis of Indole Triflones, Org. Lett., 2013, 15(3): 686~689.

5.         Guokai Liu; Xin Wang; Xiu-Hua Xu; Xu Lu; Etsuko Tokunaga; Seiji Tsuzuki; Norio Shibata*, Efficient Difluoromethylation of sp3 Carbon Nucleophiles by Bromodifluoromethylation Reagents with Organic Bases”, ChemistryOPEN, 2012, 1(5): 227~231.

6.         Guokai Liu; Satoru Mori; Xin Wang; Shun Noritake; Etsuko Tokunaga; Norio Shibata*, Efficient synthesis of unsymmetrical S-(bromodifluoromethyl)diarylsulfonium salts for electrophilic bromodifluoromethylating reagents, New J. Chem., 2012, 36: 1769~1773.

7.         Yu-Dong Yang; Xu Lu; Guokai Liu; Etsuko Tokunaga; Seiji Tsuzuki*; Norio Shibata*, Cation versus Radical: Studies on the C/O Regioselectivity in Electrophilic Tri-, Di- and Monofluoromethylations of β-Ketoesters, ChemstryOPEN, 2012, 1(5): 221~226.

8.          Xiu-Hua Xu; Xin Wang; Guokai Liu; Etsuko Tokunaga; Norio Shibata*, Regioselective Synthesis of Heteroaryl Triflones by LDA (LithiumDiisopropylamide)-Mediated Anionic Thia-Fries Rearrangement, Org. Lett., 2012, 14(10): 2544~2547.

9.         Xiu-Hua Xu; Guokai Liu; Ayaka Azuma; Etsuko Tokunaga; Norio Shibata*, Synthesis of Indole and Biindolyl Triflones: Trifluoromethanesulfonylation of Indoles with Tf2O/TTBP (2,4,6-tri-tert-butylpyridine) System, Org. Lett., 2011, 13(18): 4854~4857.

10.     Yiyong Huang; Satoru Suzuki; Guokai Liu; Etsuko Tokunaga; Motoo Shiro; Norio Shibata*, Asymmetric synthesis of chiral trifluoromethylated heliotridane via highly catalytic asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation with β-trifluoromethylated acrylates and pyrroles, New J. Chem, 2011, 35: 2614~2621.

E. Patents

1.         Xiangui Yang; Guokai Liu; Shuying Liu; Shunfen Li; Shizhong Luo, Method for preparing 2-quinoxaline alcohol , Publication Number: CN1696119, Application Number: 200410022522.8.