Final Report Summary - CAR-CHASE (Catalysts for Asymmetric Reactivity of Alcohols as Electrophiles: A Career Integration Project)
Integration and Transfer of Knowledge: I have integrated into and transferred knowledge to the scientific community at Strasbourg by starting collaborations with several groups, including those of Profs. Thomas Ebbesen, Paolo Samori and Marco Cecchini. Two of these have already led to publications in new areas for my group. I also organized the seminar series for ISIS from 2013-2015. I have integrated into the community by teaching two courses at the Master’s level each year. I am a council member of the University’s Doctoral School of Chemical Science (EDSC) since March 2014. I organized the ‘Themed Afternoon Symposium’ (AMT du EDSC), September 23, 2014 for PhD students. I obtained the Habilitation to Direct Research (HDR) on September 23, 2014 and am thus officially able to supervise PhD theses in Europe. In 2016, I led an effort to establish a new international Master’s program in Supramolecular Chemistry funded by the Erasmus program.
Career Development: Since taking up the Career Integration Grant in 2013, I have established a scientifically and financially independent research group at UNISTRA, which currently consists of 4 PhD students, 2 postdoctoral fellows, and 3 Master’s students. My level of research training and competence has increased with respect to project management, mentorship, grantsmanship and ability to write scientific papers. Since obtaining the Marie Curie CIG grant in 2013, I have obtained an ERC Starting Grant (2015-2020), four local LabEx grants, 1 Alsace Region PhD fellowship, and been the “scientist in charge” for two incoming externally funded postdoctoral fellows (1 Marie Curie IEF fellow and 1 Leverhulme Trust fellow). Furthermore, I have participated in 1 COST action. Since 2013, I have given over 20 invited talks or conference presentations at European, North American and Asian universities or research institutions. These have allowed me to integrate into the European research community, though I still hold a temporary position at UNISTRA. After receiving offers for professorships from other European universities in March 2016, I was convinced to stay at UNISTRA by senior colleagues who promised that a competition for a permanent position would be launched with a strong expectation of success. As of April 2017, no such competition has been launched, though I am assured the process is ongoing.
Website: moranlab.com