People of ASP

Sheo B. Singh was born in a village in UP, India. He earned his BS and MS degrees from Gorakhpur University and PhD in Natural Products Chemistry (mentor: late Dr. RS Thakur) from Avadh University, Ayodhya and Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. After Postdoctoral studies at University of Glasgow (mentor: late Prof Karl Overton) in Biosynthesis and at Arizona State University (mentor: late Prof. G. Robert Pettit) followed by appointment as research professor at ASU, discovering biologically active natural products; he joined the Natural Products Chemistry group at Merck in 1989. He retired from Merck after 24 years of highly successful career including director and head of Natural Products. He has discovered/co-discovered over 400 biologically active natural products including combretastatins, apicidin, nodulisporic acids, platensimycin, platencin, and kibdelomycin. He has synthesized over 23 natural products including dolastatin 10 and 15. Dolastatin 10 analogs have led to more than five FDA approved antibody drug conjugates for treatment of various types of cancer. Dr. Singh has published over 230 papers, 34 reviews and coinventor of 55 patents. Dr. Singh is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and members of advisory editorial boards of Journal of Natural Products and Journal of Antibiotics. He is recipient of 2023 Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award from American Society of Pharmacognosy.