Dean Toste is the Gerald E. K. Branch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research focuses on the development of catalysts, catalytic reactions, and synthetic methods for constructing complex molecular structures.
The Toste Group is particularly known for pioneering contributions to homogeneous gold catalysis, chiral anion catalysis, and mechanistically guided reaction discovery. The group also explores catalysis at interfaces with supramolecular chemistry, biomass conversion, and selective bioconjugation of complex biological molecules.
He earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. from Stanford University under Professor Barry M. Trost. He then conducted postdoctoral research with Professor Robert H. Grubbs at the California Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley.
He has received numerous honors, including the ACS Cope Scholar Award, the ACS E. J. Corey Award, the Humboldt Research Award, and the RSC Catalysis in Organic Chemistry Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.