Joseph Moran
@moranlabchem.bsky.social
Organic chemist interested in the origins of life. Moranlab.com 🇨🇦 CRC1 and Prof @uottawa.ca 🇫🇷 part-time @unistra.fr
Congrats to recent PhD graduate Maciej Piejko for winning the thesis prize from the Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn! Your future is bright! fondation-lehn.fr/prix-de-thes...
Prix de thèse 2026 : la Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn récompense deux travaux interdisciplinaires en chimie-santé et science quantique
La Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn a une nouvelle fois salué l'excellence scientifique en remettant son prix de thèse à deux jeunes chercheurs prometteurs de l'U
fondation-lehn.fr
A nice News highlight in @science.org on the work of my collaborator Bill Martin (we pitched in on one of the pre-prints). www.science.org/content/arti...
Metal-driven chemical reaction in deep sea may explain origin of life
Group offers new scenario for how cells came to rely on phosphate molecules to build DNA and store energy
science.org
Three back-to-back-to-back conference is probably too much of a good thing, but thoroughly enjoyed the Reaction Mechanisms Conference in Holland, MI, the GRC Metallocofactors in Portland, ME , and the French-American Chemical Symposium in Ottawa (photo from FACS below).
Enzymes use strong electric fields to catalyze metabolism. Could abiotic electric fields have kickstarted a proto-metabolism before enzymes? @noeminogal.bsky.social's paper in @jacs.acspublications.org hints that, at least for pyridoxal biosynthesis, the answer might be yes. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
Enzymes use strong electric fields to catalyze metabolism. Could abiotic electric fields have kickstarted a proto-metabolism before enzymes? @noeminogal.bsky.social's paper in @jacs.acspublications.org hints that, at least for pyridoxal biosynthesis, the answer might be yes. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
Thanks for sending Jon our way, John. We’ll take good care of him!
John Trant@trantteam.bsky.social · 3mo agoExercise: Please set up a reflux of a round-bottomed flask. Jon Houser, pictured here (and superstar going to @moranlabchem.bsky.social for his PhD) was not impressed with the results. I do think there are some curious typologies though!
Had a great visit at McGill Chemistry in my home town of Montréal. Thanks to Thomas Preston for hosting, Janine Mauzeroll for the invitation, and everyone else for their time.
Yes, indeed! First time in Hawaii and at this conference.
Pacifichem@pacifichem.bsky.social · 8mo agoThank you for joining us! We hope you've enjoyed Honolulu despite some rain 😅
The jet lag helped the family get up early on Tuesday and we made it to the top of Diamond Head just after sunrise.
Enjoying science and (occasional) sun at @pacifichem.bsky.social Thanks to Yoshiyuki Kageyama and Neal Devaraj for organizing the session on "Frontiers in Dynamic Supramolecular Chemistry: Towards Practical Functions".
We are on a roll with hiring here at @uvic.ca Chemistry! Experimental chemistry research programs of all types are in scope. See Saurabh's note below for details/advertisement link! (and don't let his self deprecation fool you - he's already made faculty meetings 20% more inspiring! 🙃)
Saurabh Chitnis@sschitnis.bsky.social · 9mo agoUVic Chemistry is hiring again! Come join us in beautiful Victoria, BC on the Pacific coast! Mild winters, incredible summers, great facilities, & inspiring colleagues (minus me). Asst. Prof. level. Physical, Organic, & Inorganic preferred. www.uvic.ca/faculty-staf...
Great news for astrobiology in Ontario and Canada! www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Quest to find another Earth brings renowned researcher home to Toronto | CBC News
Canadian astronomical research is getting a big boost with the return of Sara Seager to Canada after around 20 years at MIT. Her research includes looking for life in the clouds of Venus and searching...
cbc.ca
They say grad students start to resemble their chemicals. Very creative, Jack! Happy Halloween!
Yes! I have been advocating for this viewpoint for years.
PCE3@pce3-sci.bsky.social · 9mo agoInteresting opinion article! Important discussion to be had as well. Who Decides What Is Prebiotically Plausible? The Risks of Premature Constraints in Origin-of-Life Research www.mdpi.com/3555090 #mdpilife via @Life_MDPI
10 days left to apply. A view from my 13 min bike commute downtown - not always possible in North America!
Joseph Moran@moranlabchem.bsky.social · 11mo ago@uottawa.ca is hiring a Full Professor and Tier 1 CRC in Sustainable Catalyst Design. Ability to teach inorganic and organometallic chemistry especially welcome. Comes with dedicated funding, teaching reduction, and substantial startup funds. Ottawa is a great place to live! tinyurl.com/bdcm5hw6
Past and present collide as @rjmayer.bsky.social and @yannickgeiger.bsky.social, now both leading groups of their own, meet @noeminogal.bsky.social at @esor2025.bsky.social in beautiful Padova.
ESOR2025@esor2025.bsky.social · last yr.📢📢 ESOR2025 – 20th European Symposium on Organic Reactivity 🧪⌬ 9-12 September 2025 - Padova - Italy 🇮🇹🇮🇹 www.esor2025.com Meet our Keynote speakers (2/2) Early Bird deadline: 18 June 2025
A great start to @esor2025.bsky.social in beauitiful Padova today. An introduction by our conference chair @leonardprins.bsky.social
Leonard Prins@leonardprins.bsky.social · 2y agoLooking for a stimulating conference on physical-organic chemistry ? We are organizing the 20th edition of ESOR from 9-12 September 2025 in Padova, Italy. Visit www.esor2025.com for info. Follow us on @esor2025.bsky.social to stay informed. #Chemsky. Reposts appreciated.
@uottawa.ca is hiring a Full Professor and Tier 1 CRC in Sustainable Catalyst Design. Ability to teach inorganic and organometallic chemistry especially welcome. Comes with dedicated funding, teaching reduction, and substantial startup funds. Ottawa is a great place to live! tinyurl.com/bdcm5hw6
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Catalyst Design - Ottawa, Ontario (CA) job with University of Ottawa, Ontario CANADA | 12844053
The University of Ottawa invites applications for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Sustainable Catalyst Design. The successful candidate wil...
tinyurl.com
Et pour terminer la journée, Joseph Moran nous parle de l'origine du métabolisme. @gregoiredanger.bsky.social @pauline-poinot.bsky.social @ytrolez.bsky.social @moranlabchem.bsky.social
In the Interdisciplinarity in Organic Chemistry symposium at #CSC2025. Started out with @moranlabchem.bsky.social telling us about the metabolic origins of life, and now hearing from Eda Kilic from @theprattgroup.bsky.social about organelle targeting dyes. Organic chemistry is so cool 🥰
What better to do on the morning of #CSC2025 than explore some Ottawa trails with @leitchlab.bsky.social, @nelsonyslam.bsky.social and @hoflab.bsky.social ?
At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first? Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first?
Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
knowablemagazine.org
Was a JSP Fellow more than a decade ago and it was so critical to integration of this Canadian (who barely knew anyone on the continent) into the European scene. Thank you, @swisschemistry.bsky.social
Swiss Chemical Society (SCS)@swisschemistry.bsky.social · last yr.JSP program at the Bürgenstock conference 2025 promotes Scientific Leaders of the next Generation from both academia and industry! Class 2025 JSP together with the Bürgenstock president José Luis Mascareñas. #SCS_BC25 #JSPFellow2025 #scs
It feels strange to be in Switzerland in April/May for something other than the #Burgenstock meeting, but it was a pleasure to be the external speaker at the last retreat of the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering in Grindelwald.
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
I check the little screen, I check the big screen, I check the watch screen, I check the tablet screen. I check the screen that reminds me of the good times, I check the screen that reminds me of the better times.
🎉 Big day for our group: our first publication is out! Tom did a fantastic job highlighting current trends & opportunities in peptide catalysis — now published in Chem Catalysis (open access). Huge congrats, Tom! www.cell.com/chem-catalys...
Peptide catalysis: Trends and opportunities
Peptides are highly selective organocatalysts, with intrinsic modularity allowing precise control over structure and function. Advances in peptide synthesis, biotechnology, and cheminformatics will en...
cell.com
