Hugo Mangin developed an early interest in science and, following his secondary education, joined the preparatory classes at Lycée Henri Poincaré in Nancy. There, he strengthened his background in physics and chemistry and successfully completed the highly competitive national entrance examinations that granted him admission to the National Graduate School of Chemistry of Montpellier.
Throughout his academic training, he gained extensive international research experience through several internships in both academia and industry. His first internship was conducted at Merck in Darmstadt, Germany, where he spent four months working on the optimization of a synthetic step in the preparation of an anticancer drug and on the development of an alternative electrochemical route toward the synthesis of an antiparasitic compound.
He subsequently completed a gap year internship at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (formerly Janssen Pharmaceutica) in Beerse, Belgium. Over a period of nine months, he contributed to medicinal chemistry projects focused on the synthesis of SMARCA2 inhibitors as potential candidates for the treatment of lung cancer.
During the final year of his studies, he carried out his end-of-studies research project at dsm-firmenich in Geneva, Switzerland. His work involved the synthesis of renewable carbon-based building blocks for the discovery department, as well as route scouting activities aimed at the development of new perfumery solvents and fragrance ingredients. This experience further broadened his expertise in sustainable chemistry and industrial innovation.
DC6 will develop a methodology for the direct C-H functionalization of heterocyclic systems through an electrophotochemical Minisci-type reaction followed by a photochemical De Mayo reaction for the synthesis of highly functionalized compounds starting from naturally abundant feedstock’s. In a first step, the alkylation of aza-arenes will be studied, that will allow the introduction of EWG functional groups, required for a consecutive De Mayo reaction under photochemical conditions. This methodology will open the door to the functionalization of simple scaffolds in a single step, highly useful for the preparation of bioactive molecules or natural products in an easy manner.
The Electrify It project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101226468.