Introduction
Dr. Min Neal Deng joined the Department of Chemistry at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) as an Associate Professor in April 2026. He was selected for a national-level fund program for Outstanding Young Scientists (Overseas) in 2025. To date, he has published multiple research articles as first author or co-author in leading journals, comprising Nature, Acc. Chem. Res., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Chem. Commun., etc.
Education and Work Experience
2026–Present: Associate Professor, Principal Investigator
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, CHN
2021–2026: Postdoctoral Associate, Advisers: Prof. Donna G. Blackmond & Prof. Philip E. Dawson
Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
2016–2021: Ph.D., Adviser: Prof. Gaël Ung
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
2012–2016: B. Sc., Advisers: Prof. Bin Tan & Prof. Xin-Yuan Liu
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, CHN
Research Area
The Deng lab will be focusing on interdisciplinary research concerning “Digital (Bio)Organic Chemistry,” aiming to leverage autonomous technologies to address complex chemistry problems related to chirality. The group’s research is grounded in chemistry while also integrating computer science, engineering, and related fields. The main research topics include: (1) Intricate Stereogenic Mechanisms, (2) Novel Chiral Functional Materials, as well as (3) Prebiotic Systems Stereochemistry.
Representative Publications
1) Deng, M.; Blackmond, D. G.* “Kinetic Profiles as a Diagnostic Probe of Complex Multi-Cycle Catalytic Reaction Networks”. J. Org. Chem. 2025, 90, 12550–12557.
2) Deng, M.; Yu, J.; Blackmond, D. G.* “Kinetic Resolution as a General Approach to Enantioenrichment in Prebiotic Chemistry”. Acc. Chem. Res. 2024, 57, 2234–2244.
3) Deng, M.; Yu, J.; Blackmond, D. G.* “Symmetry Breaking and Chiral Amplification in Prebiotic Ligation Reactions”. Nature 2024, 626, 1019–1024.
4) Deng, M.; Schley, N. D.; Ung, G.* “High Circularly Polarized Luminescence Brightness from Analogues of Shibasaki’s Lanthanide Complexes”. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 14813–14816.
5) Deng, M.‡; Mukthar, N. F. M.‡; Schley, N. D.; Ung, G.* “Yellow Circularly Polarized Luminescence from C1‐Symmetrical Copper(I) Complexes”. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 1228–1231. (‡ = equal contribution)
Lab Website
https://nealdeng.com/
