Yang Cao was born in Xi’an in the P. R. of China in 1993. Chemistry has been his favorite subject since high school and he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry from Northwest University (PRC) in 2015. While at Northwest University, Yang conducted research into degradable polyimides and later focused on analytical electrochemistry using bimetallic nano materials as sensors. He worked in the BRG while an INTO Graduate Pathways student at OSU in 2015 and returned to join the regular PhD track program in Fall 2017. Yang's research concerned the continued development of eliminative cross-coupling for the connective stereospecific assembly of CC double bonds with a focus on the synthesis of chiral allenes.

"Enantiocontrolled Connective Synthesis of Allenes by Carbenoid Eliminative Cross-Coupling between alpha-(Methylthio)vinylcuprate Species and alpha-(Carbamoyl-oxy)alkyl-boronates," Y. Cao, P. R. Blakemore* Synlett 2023, DOI: 10.1055/a-2072-2882. [LINK][abstract][SI]

Synthesis of Thioalkynes by Desilylative Sonogashira Cross-Coupling of Aryl Iodides and 1-Methylthio-2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyne," Y. Cao, Y. Huang, P. R. Blakemore* Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2022, e202200498. [LINK][abstract][SI]

"Total Synthesis of Chalaniline B: An Antibiotic Aminoxanthone from Vorinostat-Treated Fungus Chalara sp. 6661," Khoshbakht, M.; Thanaussavadate, B.; Zhu, C.; Cao, Y.; Zakharov, L. N.; Loesgen, S.; Blakemore,* P. R. J. Org. Chem. 2021, 86, 7773-7780. [LINK] [abstract][SI]

"Stereospecific Synthesis of Alkenes by Eliminative Cross-Coupling of Enantioenriched sp3-Hybridized Carbenoids," Wu, Z.; Sun, X.; Potter, K.; Cao, Y.; Zakharov, L. N.; Blakemore, P. R. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 12285-12289. [LINK][abstract][SI]