Welcome to the Taylor Group! We are an organic chemistry & chemical biology research group located in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. Our research program is dedicated towards the development of new chemical reactions that can be used to study biological processes on the sub-molecular level as well as to enable the design and synthesis of new therapeutics.
Graduate Students:
We will be looking to recruit motivated and enthusiastic Ph.D. students into our group next year.
We recruit from a wide range of interests and backgrounds, so, if you interest for any of the following.....
Organic Chemistry: organic synthesis, reaction methods development, and photochemistry.
Chemical Biology: using designer chemical probes to addressing traditionally challenging questions in mechanistic biology and drug discovery.
Analytical Chemistry: development and application of cutting edge workflows for chemical proteomics and mass spectrometry.
.....then you could be a good fit for our group!
To get an overview of our group, feel free to peruse this website, or to contact Dr. Taylor directly.
For more information on our graduate program, check out our webpage describing our graduate program.
We are located in Tucson, AZ; a vibrant community located in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. While the word "desert" may conjure images of endless sand dunes, the Sonoran desert is very much alive and full of biodiversity, ranging from the iconic saguaro cactus to the stately palm and olive trees that line the entrances to the UA main campus. As one of the oldest continuously farmed areas in North America, Tucson has a rich history and culture, and also boasts status a UNESCO City of Gastronomy Moreover, the city is surrounded on all sides by mountains, offering ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking and even skiing.
We are housed on the fourth floor of the modern Chemical Sciences Building where we have a nicely designed laboratory that maximizes both comfort and safety. Our lab is equipped with state-of-the art instrumentation and equipment that allows us to combine organic synthesis, photophysics, and chemical biology into one laboratory. The University of Arizona is also home to state-of-the-art core facilities that are staffed by experts in the field and equipped with the latest instrumentation in NMR, mass spectrometry, and microscopy/imaging (as well as many others!). More information on core facilities at UA can be found here.
Recent News
February 2026:
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The final version of our photocatalysis work has been published in JACS! Congratulations to Vishal, Hieu, and Sam!
Here's the link.
December 2025:
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Congratulations to Dylan for being named the Chemistry and Biochemistry Outstanding Senior!
November 2025:
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Check out the final version of our collaborative work with the Gustafson Group for small molecule trifluoromethylation in Organic Letters! Congratulations to Vishal, Nick, and Vlad, as well as our fantastic collaborators in the Gustafson group!
Here's the link.
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Our pre-print on intracellular photosensitization between aromatic cations is out on BioRxiv. Congratulations to Vishal, Hieu, and Sam!
Here's the link.
October 2025:
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Our collaborative work with the Gustafson Group using our radical photocages for small molecule trifluoromethylation out as a preprint on ChemRxiv! Congratulations to Vishal, Nick, and Vlad from UofA, as well as our fantastic collaborators in the Gustafson group!
Here's the link.
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Our pre-print on red-shifted aromatic cations for protein ligation, imaging, and intracellular labelling is out in BioRxiv. Congratulations to Pranab, Pooja, Sanwayee, and Vishal!
Here's the link.
