Michael P. Pollastri

Research Assistant Professor

Organic & Medicinal Chemistry

Office: SCI 286 -- Lab: SCI 281
Phone: (617) 358-6043 (Office)
Fax: (617) 353-6466
E-mail: mpollast@bu.edu

Office hours: Not applicable

• Ph.D., Brown University, 2004

  M.S., Duke University, 1998

  A.B., College of the Holy Cross, 1995

• Pfizer RTC Blaze of Glory Award, 2005

  Pfizer Global R&D Achievement Award, 2003

  Pfizer Global R&D Excellence Award, 2003

  Pfizer Discovery - Above & Beyond Award, 2001, 2002

  Phi Lambda Upsilon, Chemistry Honor Society, 1996

None

Current

• I am the Director of the Medicinal Chemistry and Core Synthesis Facility. This facility is charged with developing potent and selective compounds for biological targets of interest, starting from initial hit compounds identified from screens the libraries generated at the Boston University Center for Chemical Methodology & Library Development. My research interests include hit-to-lead medicinal chemistry and development of chemical technologies, such as flow chemistry.

Previous

Pfizer Global Research & Development – Cambridge, MA Laboratories

Principal Scientist & Head of Chemical Technologies, 2005-2007

Senior Scientist – Medicinal Chemistry, 2003-2005

Pfizer Global Research & Development – Groton, CT Laboratories

Associate Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry, 2003

Assistant Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry, 1998-2003

Medicinal Chemistry and Core Synthesis Facility

• Bazin, M; Shi, H; Delaney, J.; Kline, B;, Zhu, Z.; Kuhn, C.; Berlioz, F.; Farley, K.; Fate, G.; Lam, W.; Walker, G.; Yu, L.; Pollastri, M.P. “Efficient use of the iron ortho-nitrophenylporphyrin chloride to mimic biological oxidations of dimethylaminoantipyrine”, Chem. Biol. Drug Design, 2007, 70, 354-359.
• Pollastri, M.P., Sagal, J.F., Chang, G., “The Conversion of Alcohols to Halides Using a Filterable Phosphine Source”, Tetrahedron Letters 2001, 35, 2459-2460.
• Pollastri, M.P., Porter, N.A., McIntosh, T.J., Simon, S.A., “Synthesis, Structure, and Thermal Properties of 1,2-Dipalmitoylgalloylglycerol (DPGG), A Novel Self-Adhering Lipid”, Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 2000, 104, 67-74.
• McIntosh, T.J., Pollastri, M.P., Porter, N.A., Simon, S.A, “Polyphenols increase adhesion between lipid bilayers by forming interbilayer bridges”, Basic Life Sci. 66(Plant Polyphenols 2) 1999, 451-470.
• Jones, P.B., Pollastri, M.P., Porter, N.A., “2-Benzoylbenzoic Acid: A Photolabile Mask for Alcohols and Thiols.” Journal of Organic Chemistry 1996, 61, 9455-9461.
• Curran, T.P., Pollastri, M.P., Abelleira, S.M., Messier, R.J., McCollum, T.A., Rowe, C.G., “Loss of the tert-Butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) Protecting Group Under Basic Conditions.” Tetrahedron Letters 1994, 35, 5409-5412.
• Curran, T.P., Smith, M.B., Pollastri, M.P., “Cis-3,5-Dimethyl-3,5-Piperdinedicarboxylic Acid, An Amino Diacid Variant of Kemp’s Triacid.” Tetrahedron Letters 1994, 35, 4515-4518.

Patents

• Chang, G., Didiuk, M. T. Finneman, J. I., Garigiapati, R. S., Kelley, R. M., Perry, D. A., Ruggeri, R. B., Bechle, B. M., Pollastri, M. P. “Preparation of 1,2,4-substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-and 1,2-dihydroquinoline and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline derivatives as cetp inhibitors for the treatment of atherosclerosis and obesity. WO 2004085401.

Presentations

• Zhu, Z.; Shalaeva, M.; Pollastri, M.P.; Stanton, R.V. “Tautomer stability and pKa evaluation.” 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, 2007.
• Pollastri, M.P., Walters, E., Bazin, M., Otte, D.A., Nugent, R.A. “Developing New Chemical Technologies at the RTC – A PGRD Testing Ground”, 6th Pfizer Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, 2005.
• Pollastri, M. P., Otte, D. A., Wynn, T.A., Ding, Y.-H., Kohls, D., Low, S., Soulard, P., McLaughlin, M., Xi, H., Kuhn, C., Rennie, G., Springer, S., Johnson, T., Delaney, J., “Development of dynamic combinatorial chemistry as a novel hit-to-lead methodology”, 6th Pfizer Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, 2005.
• Pollastri, M. P., Otte, D. A., Wynn, T.A., Ding, Y.-H., Kohls, D., Low, S., Soulard, P., McLaughlin, M., Xi, H., Kuhn, C., Rennie, G., Springer, S., Johnson, T., Delaney, J., “Development of dynamic combinatorial chemistry as a novel hit-to-lead methodology”, Groton Chemistry Forum, Groton, CT, 2005
• Pollastri, M. P. “Microwave-mediated synthesis: A green chemistry technology.” 229th ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, 2005.
• Pollastri, M.P., Sagal, J.F., Chang, G., “Conversion of alcohols to halides using a filterable source of phenylphosphine.” 218th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 1999.
• Curran, T.P., Pollastri, M.P., Abelleira, S.M., Messier, R.J., McCollum, T.A., Rowe, C.G., “Rearrangement of the tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) Protecting Group Under Basic Conditions”209th National Conference of the American Chemical Society, San Diego, CA, 1994.