Dr. Jin Cui obtained his Ph.D. from Osaka University in 2015 and worked as a JSPS postdoctoral fellow in Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki’s group at the Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN), Tokyo, where he became a tenured researcher and was promoted as a Senior Researcher. He joined the GBA-IPM in July 2023. His research interests are at the interface between chemistry and biology. Currently, his research focuses on the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of biologically important molecules and the development of peptide-based therapeutics.

2022, Young Investigator Award, the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Kanto-branch

2018, Best Poster Award, The Ninth International Forum on Chemistry of Functional Organic Chemicals (IFOC-9)

2015, JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship

2012, Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship

1.Samanta, S.; Cui, J.*; Otsuka, Y.; Watanabe, T.*; Shibasaki, M.* Direct Catalytic Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of α-Substituted Benzyl Nitriles to Alkyl Acrylates. Org. Lett. 2024, 26, 2255.

2.Cui, J.*; Oriez, R.; Samanta, S.; Noda, H.*; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M.* Catalytic Asymmetric Vinylogous Conjugate Addition of Butenolide to 2-Ester-Substituted Chromones: Access to Chiral Chromanone Lactones via Trapping of a Copper(I) Enolate by Trimethyl Borate. Org. Lett. 2023, 25, 8367.

3.Cui, J.*; Samanta, S.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M.* Brønsted Base-Catalyzed Direct 1,6-Conjugate Addition of Butenolide to p-Quinone Methides. Asian J. Org. Chem. 2023, 12, e202300176.

4.Samanta, S.; Cui, J.; Noda, H.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M. Asymmetric syn-selective vinylogous addition of butenolides to chromones via ALB catalysis. J. Org. Chem. 2022, 88, 1177.

5.Cui, J.; Ogasawara, Y.; Kurata, I.; Matoba, K.; Fujioka, Y.; Noda, N. N.; Shibasaki, M.; Watanabe T. Targeting the ATG5-ATG16L1 protein-protein interaction with a hydrocarbon-stapled peptide derived from ATG16L1 for autophagy inhibition. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 44, 38, 17671. Selected as Supplementary Cover

6.Cui, J.*; Oriez, R.; Noda, H.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M.* Concise and stereodivergent approach to chromanone lactones through copper-catalyzed asymmetric vinylogous addition of siloxyfurans to 2-ester-substituted chromones. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202203128. Selected as Inside Back Cover

7.Cui, J.; Kumagai, N.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M. Direct catalytic asymmetric and anti-selective vinylogous addition of butenolides to chromones. Chem. Sci. 2020, 11, 7170. Highlighted in Synfacts 2020, 16, 1079.

8.Yamagami, M.; Tsuchikawa, H.; Cui, J.; Umegawa, Y.; Miyazaki, Y.; Seo, S.; Shinoda, W.; Murata, M. Average conformation of branched-chain lipid PGP-Me that accounts for the thermal stability and high-salinity resistance of archaeal membranes. Biochemistry, 2019, 58, 37,3869.

9.Cui, J.; Ohtsuki, A.; Watanabe, T.; Kumagai, N.; Shibasaki, M. Direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of thioamide with an α‐vinyl appendage. Chem. Eur. J. 2018, 24, 2598. Highlighted in Synfacts 2018, 14, 0383.

10.Cui, J.; Morita, M.; Ohno, O.; Kimura, T.; Teruya, T.; Watanabe, T.; Suenaga, K.; Shibasaki, M. Leptolyngbyolides, cytotoxic macrolides from the marine cyanobacterium leptolyngbya sp.: isolation, biological activity, and catalytic asymmetric total synthesis. Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23, 8500.

11.Sahara, Y.; Cui, J.; Furutachi, M.; Chen, J. B.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the C1-C15 segment of spirastrellolide A. Synthesis 2017, 49, 69.

12.Cui, J.; Watanabe, T.; Shibasaki, M. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of key intermediate for scytophycin C. Tetrahedron Lett. 2016, 57, 446.

13.Cui, J.; Lethu, S.; Yasuda, T.; Matsuoka, S.; Matsumori, N.; Sato, F.; Murata, M. Phosphatidylcholine bearing 6,6-dideuterated oleic acid: a useful solid-state 2H NMR probe for investigating membrane properties. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2015, 25, 203.

14. Ando, J.; Kinoshita, M.; Cui, J.; Yamakoshi, H.; Dodoa, K.; Fujita, K.; Murata, M.; Sodeoka, M. Sphingomyelin distribution in lipid rafts of artificial monolayer membranes visualized by Raman microscopy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2015, 112, 4558.

15.Cui, J.; Matsuoka, S.; Kinoshita, M.; Matsumori, N.; Sato, F.; Murata, M.; Ando, J.; Yamakoshi, H.; Dodo, K.; Sodeoka, M. Novel Raman-tagged sphingomyelin that closely mimics original raft-forming behavior. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2015, 23, 2989.

16.Cui, J.; Kawatake, S.; Umegawa, Y.; Lethu, S.; Yamagami, M.; Matsuoka, S.; Sato, F.; Matsumori, N.; Murata, M. Stereoselective synthesis of the head group of archaeal phospholipid PGP-Me to investigate bacteriorhodopsin-lipid interactions. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2015, 13, 10279.