Phil S. Baran was born in New Jersey in 1977. He received his B.S. in chemistry from NYU while conducting research in physical organic chemistry under the guidance of Professor David Schuster. In 1997, he joined the lab of Professor K. C. Nicolaou at The Scripps Research Institute and accomplished the first total syntheses of the infamous CP molecules and the bissorbicillinoids as an NSF predoctoral fellow. Those endeavors in synthesis led to a spate of new methods including the previously unrecognized chemistry of iodine(V)-reagents in synthesis. From 2001-2003 he was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard in the laboratory of Professor E. J. Corey where he completed total syntheses of the okaramines and austamides.
Professor Baran began his independent career at his alma mater, The Scripps Research Institute, in the summer of 2003 and in 2006 he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. In 2008 he was promoted to Professor of Chemistry with tenure at the age of 30. Professor Baran has published over 70 scientific articles and has been the recipient of many prestigious awards such as the 2003 ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award, the 2007 ACS Fresenius Award, and the 2006 Beckman Young Investigator Award. In addition, he was named a Searle Scholar in 2005. Professor Baran is the recipient of nearly every young investigator award administered by industrial sponsors, including: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DuPont, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Roche. His laboratory is focused on uncovering fundamental lessons in chemical reactivity and the invention of new reactions fueled by the perpetual beauty of natural products and the wondrous excitement that accompanies their total synthesis.