Jonathan Sessler

Who is Jonathan Sessler?

Jonathan Sessler is a professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. He is notable for his pioneering work on expanded porphyrins and their applications to biology and medicine. He is a co-founder of Pharmacyclics, Inc., a company that works with expanded porphyrins, and Anionics, Inc., which develops anion recognition chemistry.

Sessler received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1977 from the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1982 from Stanford University. He continued as a post-doctoral fellow at L'Université Louis Pasteur, and worked in Kyoto, Japan before becoming an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin in 1984.

He was treated for cancer at Stanford University Medical Center during work on his Ph.D. Discussions with his colleagues regarding possible treatments eventually led to the discovery of so-called "texaphyrin" molecules, named as such due a semblance to the shape of the five-pointed star in the State flag of Texas, In 1996, Sessler described possible uses of these compounds in medicine in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.