Clayton Heathcock

Who is Clayton Heathcock?

Clayton Heathcock is an organic chemist, Professor of Chemistry, and Dean of the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Heathcock is well known for his accomplishments in the synthesis of complex polycyclic natural products and for his contributions to the chemistry community. In 1995 he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Clayton Heathcock received his B.Sc. in chemistry in 1958 from Abilene Christian University and a Ph.D in organic chemistry in 1963 from the University of Colorado. His graduate work was carried out under the direction of Alfred Hassner and dealt with the synthesis of steroidal heterocycles. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Gilbert Stork at Columbia University. In 1964, he joined the faculty at UC Berkeley where he is currently Professor in the Graduate School and Dean of the College of Chemistry.

Heathcock is known for tackling the chemical synthesis of complex, polycyclic natural products, often possessing unusual biological activity including Daphniphyllum alkaloids, altohyrtin, zaragozic acid, spongistatins, and many others.