Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Jonas Rein stands in front of a power point presentation.

Jonas Rein presents his research at the Organic Retreat.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Philip West stands in front of a power point presentation.

Philip West presents his research at the Organic Retreat.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Daniel Rozsar stands in front of a power point presentation.

Daniel Rozsar presents his research at the Organic Retreat.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Kathleen Downey stands in front of a power point presentation.

Kathleen Downey presents her research at the Organic Retreat.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Hallie Trial stands in front of a power point presentation.

Hallie Trial presents her reasearch.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Jennifer Pierre-Louis stands in front of a power point presentation.

Jennifer Pierre-Louis presents her research.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Colleen McAloon stands in front of a power point presentation.

Colleen McAloon presentes her research.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

Elise Ackerman stands in front of a power point presentation.

Elise Ackerman presents her reasearch.

Image courtesy of the Department of Chemistry.

MIT Chemistry Hosts 9th Annual Denmark Organic Retreat, Sponsored by Scott Denmark (SB ’75)

by Department of Chemistry |
Categories: MIT News

The 9th Annual Denmark Organic Retreat, sponsored by Scott Denmark (SB '75), was held on June 12, 2026.

The MIT Department of Chemistry welcomed members of its organic chemistry community to Walker Memorial’s Morss Hall for the 9th Annual Denmark Organic Retreat, a day dedicated to research presentations, collaboration, and community building. The event was generously sponsored by Scott Denmark (SB ’75), Reynold C. Fuson Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Denmark, a Lynbrook, New York native, earned his SB from MIT in 1975, conducting research with Professors Richard H. Holm and Daniel S. Kemp. He completed his ScD at ETH Zürich under Professor Albert Eschenmoser in 1980 before joining the University of Illinois faculty, where he quickly rose through the ranks to be named Reynold C. Fuson Professor in 1991.

Established in 2017, the Denmark Organic Retreat fosters collaboration among MIT’s organic chemistry research groups through student talks, poster sessions, and networking opportunities. Faculty advisors nominate one graduate student per group to present their research, highlighting the department’s breadth of innovation.

This year’s retreat was organized under the leadership of Professor Alexander T. Radosevich, with support from Corrie Lefebvre, Director of Development, and the Organic Chemistry Retreat Committee: Katharina Krstic (Swager Lab), Ashton Davis (Swager Lab), Evan Ferry (Elkin Lab), Colleen McAloon (Gilliard Lab), Gerard Porter (Kiessling Lab), Harrison McCann (Raines Lab), Yuxuan Cai (Cummins Lab), and Hsuan-Min Hung (Buchwald and Pentelute Labs).

2026 Organic Retreat Presentations

  • Squarates as Lysine-Reactive Probes for Cell Surface Labeling
    Hallie Trial, Laura L. Kiessling
  • Chemiluminescence Lateral Flow Assay to Sense for Key Inflammation Biomarkers
    Jennifer Pierre-Louis, Timothy M. Swager
  • Isomer- and Redox-Dependent Electronic Structure Control of Diboraindenofluorenes
    Colleen McAloon, Robert J. Gilliard
  • Overcoming Challenges in Deconstructable Radical Copolymer Synthesis Through Thionolactone Design
    Elise Ackerman, Jeremiah A. Johnson
  • Total Synthesis of Complex Cyclotryptamine Alkaloids
    Kathleen Downey, Mohammad Movassaghi
  • Deoxygenative Ketone-to-Carbene Reduction: Csp3─H Alkylative Indoline Synthesis with an Aminophosphine
    Philip West, Alexander Radosevich
  • A Network Approach to Photocatalytic Skeletal Isomerization Reactions
    Simon Kolb, Alison Wendlandt
  • Rational Target Selection in Reaction Discovery Enables Development of Synthetic Shortcuts
    Jonas Rein, Masha Elkin
  • Catalytic C(sp2)–H Isotope Exchange Reaction Employing Structurally Constrained Phosphenium Ions
    Daniel Rozsar, Alexander Radosevich

2026 Organic Retreat Poster Sessions

  • Analogue-Aware Computer-Aided Synthesis Planning for Medicinal Chemistry
    Giselle Brown, Masha Elkin
  • From Cation Solvation to Anion Coordination: Lewis-Acidic Boranes Enable Halide Salt Electrolytes
    Sawyer D. Cawthern, Jeremiah A. Johnson
  • Topologically Selective Deconstruction of Polymer Networks
    Anna Davis, Jeremiah A. Johnson
  • Navigating Constitutional Isomerization Networks: Dynamic Kinetic Control for Skeletal Remodeling of Ketones
    Wenlai Han, Alison Wendlandt
  • Modular Synthesis of Covalent Glycan Labeling Probes for Ultrasensitive Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection
    Phillip Ipock, Laura Kiessling
  • Porous Poly(Aryl Pyrazoliums) for Next-Generation Anion Exchange Membranes
    Katharina Krstic, Timothy M. Swager
  • Oxacalix[4]arene-Based SNAr Copoly(Arylene Ether)s for Non-Aqueous Redox Flow Battery Membranes
    Nathan Man-Wai Wu, Timothy M. Swager
  • Amide Functionalization as a Platform for Molecular Diversification
    Tucker Neal, Masha Elkin
  • Nonspectator Behavior of a Tricoordinate Phosphorus Ligand: Palladium-to-Phosphorus Hydrocarbyl Migration Across Csp3, Csp2, and Csp Substrates
    Lily Ueh-Hsi Wang, Alexander Radosevich