M. Christina White is a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research in the field of organometallic catalysis focuses on developing highly selective carbonâÂÂhydrogen bond activation methods to streamline the process of complex molecule synthesis.
White received a B.A. degree with highest honors in biochemistry from Smith College in 1992, where she worked with Stuart Rosenfeld in the area of hostâÂÂguest chemistry. From 1992 to 1993, she worked in the biology graduate program at Johns Hopkins University with Christian Anfinsen on thermophilic bacteria protein folding. In December 1998, she earned her PhD in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University as an ACS Medicinal Chemistry Pre-Doctoral fellow, working with Gary H. Posner. Her doctoral research involved synthesis of hybrid vitamin D<sub>3</sub> analogs.
In 1999, White joined Eric Jacobsen's labs at Harvard University as an NIH postdoctoral fellow. During this time, she developed the first synthetically useful methane monooxygenase (MMO) mimic system for catalytic epoxidations with hydrogen peroxide. In July 2002, White joined the Harvard University chemistry department as a faculty member. In 2005, she moved to Illinois, where she currently works at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a professor of chemistry, researching CâÂÂH bond activation. White's notable students include Abigail Doyle, of Princeton University.
White and her team aim to study and develop selective allylic and aliphatic C-H oxidation reactions for use in organic synthesis. White has contributed novel palladium / sulfoxide and iron catalysts that functionalize C-H bonds selectively, predictively, and without the need for directing groups. Her palladium / sulfoxide catalyst is referred to as the White Catalyst, and her iron catalyst, Fe(PDP)(MeCN)<sub>2</sub>(SbF<sub>6</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, is referred to as the White-Chen catalyst; both catalysts are commercially available. Recent research in the White lab includes designing reactions for effecting non-directed, remote aliphatic C-H hydroxylation of simple amide-containing molecules. White has also applied these catalysts and their derivatives to new applications, with the most recent being the White catalyst's dehydrogenative Diels-Alder reaction and the iron-mediated intramolecular C-H amination reaction.