We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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March 6, 2012

Speaker: Dr. Yuri Bolshan, University of Toronto, Ontario

Title: Development of methodology for the synthesis of enamides and studies on a chemical probe for epigenetic protein WDR5

Abstract: The first part of the presentation describes a copper-catalyzed coupling of amides with potassium trifluoroborate salts to yield enamides. The enamide linkage represents a fragile structural element that is prominently featured in a wide range of natural products with promising biological activities. The described protocol offers a convenient alternative to the previously developed methods, and should greatly improve the synthetic utility of enamide functionality for natural product syntheses.

The second part focuses on the development of a chemical probe for the epigenetic protein WDR5, which is a subunit of the multiprotein MLL complex. WDR5 is an attractive target due to its involvement in overexpression of certain genes that is observed in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia and in solid tumors such as prostate carcinoma and primary colorectal tumors. A chemical probe is a small molecule designed to selectively affect the activity of histone proteins that package DNA in chromatin, alter its structure, and will complement genetic knockout and serve as a starting point for drug discovery.