Felicia Lim completed her BPharm Hons (1st Class) from Curtin University, Australia in 2014 being ranked among the top 1% of undergraduate students mentioned in the Vice-Chancellor’s List. Her passion for chemistry led her to join Dr Anton Dolzhenko’s group to pursue a PhD at Monash University Malaysia.
Her research focuses on the development of practical methods for the preparation of highly valuable purine isosteres targeting critical parts of chemical space around the druggable purinome. She made a significant impact on her field of research by introducing and exploring the scope of elegantly designed and well optimized multicomponent reactions (MCRs). She reported the first MCR for the chemo- and regioselective synthesis of 5-aza-9-deaza- and 5-aza-7-deaza-adenines. Some of the prepared compounds were found to be promising molecules, particularly as agents against neglected and tropical diseases, such as Chagas disease.
During her doctorate studies, Felicia was granted the opportunity to expand her skills with Emeritus Professor Milton Hearn at the Green Chemical Futures, Monash University, Australia. Opening other aspects of her research, she applied new skills to asses and quantify the efficiency and sustainability of the developed MCRs through the prism of green chemistry metrics. In January 2019, Felicia was conferred her PhD in Organic Chemistry. Her research combines the structural elegance of synthetic organic chemistry and the sustainable methodologies of green chemistry for the synthesis of bioactive compounds.
Felicia has been an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Malaysia Chapter. She initiated the Monash University Malaysia ACS International Student Chapter, the first time for a private institution in the country. In 2016, she received an Australasian Peer Leader Award (Outstanding New Leader). In 2017, she won the Three Minute Thesis Competition in her university and in 2018, she was selected as a CAS SciFinder® Future Leader.
