This award supports a 12-month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Salvador G. Alvarez, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz. This fellowship opportunity will enable Dr. Alvarez to begin a collaborative research effort with Professor Isao Shimizu, Department of Applied Chemistry, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. The investigators propose a new method for the convergent asymmetric synthesis of 1-alpha, 25-dihydroxy-vitamin-D3 via the synthesis of the CD-ring fragment. This analogue of vitamin-D3 is an active steroid hormone and is a leading drug candidate for treating osteoporosis, a common disease with older populations. The proposed project provides a general synthesis of vitamin-D3 metabolites and their analogues for the exploration of structure activity relationship studies. This 12-month visit by Dr. Alvarez will provide him with a potential for future collaborative activities between the United States and Japan. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Alvarez will have the opportunity to become familiar with novel research methodologies and steroid chemistry at Waseda University while contributing to the overall research effort. Therefore, this proposal fulfills the objectives of the program in its exchange and transfer of scientific knowledge through an international collaboration.
