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Dirk H. Trauner @DirkTrauner

Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, Natural Product Aficionado, Photopharmacologist, Fox Terrierist, and Unfulfilled Architect. #firstgen

Joined December 2017
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  • Followers 16,198
308 Photos and videos
A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratories of Professor Dirk Trauner (Department of Chemistry) and Professor Trevor Penning (Perelman School of Medicine) at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Silyl protecting groups can function as dispersive directing groups , leading to unusual stereoselectivities! Collaborating with @bobbypaton, we have demonstrated this for a specific case. Stay tuned for a more systematic study! pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.102…

Protecting Groups as Dispersive Directing Groups: Toward the Asymmetric Synthesis of Altemicidin

We report progress toward the asymmetric total synthesis of altemicidin, a monoterpene alkaloid featuring a 6-azatetrahydroindane core. A diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with TMS-diazo...

pubs.acs.org
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Vitamin D is famous for its photochemistry. We have now added a photopharmacology aspect in a wonderful collaboration with the Merk group. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…

An Agonist/Antagonist Photo‐Switchable Vitamin D Mimetic Enables Bidirectional Optical Control of...

Vitamin D exhibits complex and cell-specific biological effects in multiple tissues via activation of the ligand-sensing transcription factor vitamin D receptor (VDR). The photo-switchable vitamin D...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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What a week end at Penn! First we were honored to host Roald Hoffmann and then we ran the Chemistry 5K. La vita è bella.
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Excited to speak at Delaware today! research.udel.edu/scientist-…
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Join us for a special seminar with Roald Hoffmann!
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A big step forward in Photopharmacology, just published in Nature Medicine: nature.com/articles/s41591-0… A compound we conceptualized in 2008 (PMCID: PMC4040390) and synthesized in 2010 (PMCID: PMC3401033) proves effective in human vision restoration.

Intravitreal photoswitch therapy in advanced retinitis pigmentosa: a phase 1 open-label trial

Nature Medicine - A first-in-human phase 1 trial shows that intravitreal photoswitch therapy can be administered safely in advanced retinitis pigmentosa, with exploratory signals compatible with...

nature.com
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ACS Atlanta: My student Anavi Serna will present "Stephadiamine Revisited" tomorrow Monday at 3:40 PM in Exhibit Hall ChemPod 3. Talk ID: 4418069 . Worth stopping by!
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Join us for my seminar at Temple University, hosted by my first Berkeley graduate student, Prof. Chris Beaudry!
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Check our this preprint. Photopharmacology hits the human brain!
Michael Wenzel@Maikl_Wenzel
Feb 16
A milestone of our photopharmacology ERC project, just up on bioRxiv! Light-dependent control of network activity in human brain tissue of patients with epilepsy &/or brain tumors using lidocaine photoswitches & a novel photocaged propofol. 1/2 biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Check our this preprint. Photopharmacology hits the human brain!
Michael Wenzel@Maikl_Wenzel
Feb 16
Replying to @Maikl_Wenzel
Intriguingly, not all photo-drugs showed consistent effects across mouse & human, underscoring the importance of early drug testing in human model systems. Massive joint effort w Christa Müller (Uni Bonn), @DirkTrauner, @HeinzBeck8, & Dept. of Neurosurgery! 2/2
Targeted neuron in murine hippocampus.

ALT Targeted neuron in murine hippocampus.
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Excited to deliver the Overman Lecture next Wednesday at UC Irvine!
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Dirk H. Trauner retweeted
sellmyerlab@sellmyerlab
Jan 21
Lastly, Nitika's paper on photoresponsive trimethoprim PROTACs is now out @NatureComms. Grateful for our collaboration with @DirkTrauner on this one! nature.com/articles/s41467-0…

Photocontrolled trimethoprim PROTACs targeting the eDHFR protein tag

Nature Communications - In this work authors demonstrate how photocontrolled tag-targeted degradation enables precise, spatiotemporal control of protein expression in tumor cells and CAR T cells,...

nature.com
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What makes Organic Chemistry so awesome? That after ONE lecture on the rules you can design a molecule that is stable, could be made, but has never been made.
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The Trauner Group wishes you Happy Holidays, Frohe Weihnachten, and a Healthy, Peaceful, Successful, Safe, and Rewarding New Year 2026!
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Greetings from the Trauner Group Holiday Party!
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Watch out for that photon, cholesterol! Check out our latest contribution to photolipids, in a great collaboration with Michael Zott and Luca Laria. @cholsterol @photoswitches
J. Am. Chem. Soc.@J_A_C_S
13 Nov 2025
Development of Photoswitchable Cholesterol Derivatives through Side Chain Replacement | Journal of the American Chemical Society pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…
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[6 4] Cycloadditions! Introducing our first dive into this fascinating subject in a very enjoyable collaboration with Ken Houk and his team. Congrats to Harrison and Tufan! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…
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As my memory is not as good anymore as it once was, I am excited to share this collaboration with Christina Alberini (NYU) with you: nature.com/articles/s41398-0…

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It was wonderful to return to UC Berkeley and deliver a lecture with Clayton Heathcock in the audience.
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