Taylor Vacala

OVERVIEW

Taylor Vacala, Ph.D. joined Haley Guiliano as Technical Advisor in 2025 after receiving her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from New York University (NYU) in 2024.

At NYU, her research focused on developing new synthetic methods and sustainable strategies toward the functionalization of unsaturated motifs, such as alkenes and alkynes. She also contributed to the development of three synthetic methods, including a nickel-catalyzed method for the hydroalkylation of alkenes, an anaerobic cleavage of alkenes using photoexcited nitroarenes, and a cobalt-catalyzed oxidation of alkynes to afford methyl ketone products via vinyl radical intermediates. As an undergraduate at DePaul University, Taylor optimized two gold-catalyzed methods for the synthesis of quinolinones and spirolactams from N-aryl alkynamide precursors.

Taylor became interested in intellectual property after consulting with another firm on small molecule pharmaceutical patent applications.

Publications

Wise, D. E.; Gogarnoiu, E. S.; Duke, A. D.; Paolillo, J. M.; Vacala, T. L.; Hussain, W. A.; Parasram, M. Photoinduced Oxygen Transfer Using Nitroarenes for Anaerobic Cleavage of Alkenes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 15437–15442.
Vacala, T. L.; Carlson, P. R.; Arreola-Hester, A.; Williams, C. G.; Makhoul, E. W.; Vadola, P. A. Gold-Catalyzed Dearomative Spirocyclization of N-Aryl Alkynamides for the Synthesis of Spirolactams. J. Org. Chem. 2018, 83, 1493–1501.
Vacala, T.; Bejcek, L. P.; Williams, C. G.; Williamson, A. C.; Vadola, P. A. Gold-Catalyzed Hydroarylation of N-Aryl Alkynamides for the Synthesis of 2-Quinolinones. J. Org. Chem. 2017, 82, 2558–2569.

OVERVIEW

Memberships & Affiliations