Kyriakos Costa (K.C.) Nikolaou was born on 5 July 1946 in Karavas, Cyprus, where he completed his primary education. At the age of 13, he moved to Nicosia in order to enrol at the Pancyprian Gymnasium. In 1964, he emigrated from Cyprus to England. After two years of preparatory studies, he was admitted to the University of London, where he successfully completed his university education, obtaining first a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry (B.Sc., 1969, Bedford College, First Class Honours) and subsequently a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D., 1972, University College) under the supervision of Professors F. Sondheimer and P.J. Garratt.
In 1972, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, where he initially worked as a postdoctoral Member at Columbia University (in the research group of Professor T.J. Katz, 1972–1973) and at Harvard University (in the research group of Professor E.J. Corey, 1973–1976). He subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. He advanced rapidly, becoming within a short period Assistant Professor, Professor of Chemistry, and later the holder of the Rhodes-Thompson Professorship of Chemistry.
In 1989, he accepted a joint appointment at the University of California, San Diego, where he became Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and at The Scripps Research Institute, where he served as Founding Chair of the Department of Chemistry. He was awarded the Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry and the Aline W. and L. S. Skaggs Professorship in Chemical Biology. In parallel, from 2003 to 2009, he served as Founder and Director of the Chemical Synthesis Laboratory at A*STAR, Biopolis, Singapore. Between 2012 and 2014, he was Visiting Professor at Chongqing University of the People’s Republic of China. In May 2013, Professor Nikolaou joined Rice University in Houston, USA, where he assumed the Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professorship of Chemistry at the BioScience Research Collaborative.
Throughout his academic career, his research work has made a decisive contribution to advancing the art and science of total synthesis towards increasingly higher levels of molecular complexity and diversity. Through innovative synthetic strategies and technologies, he has synthesised nearly two hundred natural products and thousands of designed analogues of these compounds—possibly more than any other scientist in the history of this field. This achievement is even more remarkable given that his accomplishments encompass almost all major classes of bioactive molecules, both structurally and biologically. Notably, he was the first to achieve the laboratory synthesis of Taxol®, a natural product that is now clinically used as an anticancer drug.
Professor Nikolaou advanced the field of applied Organic Synthesis through the development of methodologies and their application to Biology and Medicine (from basic to translational research, an interdisciplinary branch of biomedical science that combines knowledge, expertise, specialised skills and techniques to promote disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment), establishing a new approach to the Total Synthesis of Natural Products.
In this way, Total Synthesis evolved from its original purpose—the confirmation of the structure of a natural product—into a highly sophisticated art based on a systematic scientific foundation through retrosynthetic analysis, becoming today a tool for the advancement of Biology and Medicine, while retaining its distinct role and independent scientific value. Nikolaou’s contribution to this transformation of the art and science of Total Synthesis has been pivotal, elevating the field to its current high level of development.
Professor Nikolaou has received numerous awards and distinctions for his scientific work, including:
- Humboldt Foundation US Senior Scientist Prize (Germany, 1987)
- A.C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society (USA, 1987)
- Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, American Chemical Society (USA, 1993)
- Dr. Paul Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis, Janssen Research Foundation (Belgium, 1994)
- Rhone-Poulenc Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, 1995)
- William H. Nichols Medal, New York Section-American Chemical Society (USA, 1996)
- Inhoffen Medal, Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH (GBF) (Germany, 1996)
- Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products, American Chemical Society (USA, 1996)
- Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists (USA, 1996)
- Linus Pauling Medal, Oregon, Portland and Puget Sound Sections-American Chemical Society (USA, 1996)
- Grand Commander of the Order of Honour (awarded by His Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic, 1998)
- Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest, Northeastern Section-American Chemical Society (USA, 1998)
- Yamada Prize (Japan, 1999)
- First Aspirin Prize for Solidarity through Chemistry (Spain, 1999)
- Max Tishler Lecture Prize, Harvard University (USA, 2000)
- Paul Karrer Gold Medal, University of Zurich (Switzerland, 2000)
- Centenary Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, 2000–2001)
- Ernst Schering Prize, Ernst Schering Research Foundation (Germany, 2001)
- Nagoya Gold Medal of Organic Chemistry, Nagoya University (Japan, 2001)
- Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (2002)
- ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (USA, 2003)
- Bodossaki Excellence Award (Greece, 2004)
- A.C. Cope Award, American Chemical Society (USA, 2005)
- Auburn-G. M. Kosolapoff Award, Auburn Section-American Chemical Society (USA, 2006)
- Burckhardt-Helferich Prize (Germany, 2006)
- ISHC Senior Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry (2007)
- August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann-Denkmünze Award (Germany, 2008)
- Chandler Medal, Columbia University (USA, 2008)
- Lampousa Lifetime Achievement Award, Cypriot American Association (2009)
- Science Award, Ministry of Education and Culture (Cyprus, 2010)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (USA, 2011)
- Rolf Sammet Guest Professorship (Germany, 2014)
- Nemitsas Prize (Cyprus, 2014)
- Einstein Professorship (People’s Republic of China, 2014)
- “Man of the Year” Award (Cyprus, 2015)
- Scientist of the Year Award (Cyprus, 2015)
- Phileleftheros Award (Cyprus, 2015)
- Wolf Prize (Israel, 2016)
Professor Nikolaou is a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences (1987), Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1993), Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (1996), Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1999), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens (Greece, 2001), Honorary Member of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2007), Honorary Member of the Israel Chemical Society (2009), Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2009), Honorary Life Member of the National Institute of Chemistry of Singapore (2011), Member of the American Philosophical Society (2011), Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London (2013), Member of the National Academy of Inventors (USA, 2015), and Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2017).
He has been awarded ten honorary degrees by universities around the world, including the University of Cyprus.
His published work includes nearly 800 scientific articles, review articles and book chapters, 67 patents, and five books, including the widely acclaimed volumes Classics in Total Synthesis (with his former student E.J. Corey, 1996, VCH), Classics in Total Synthesis II (with his former student S.A. Snyder, 2003, Wiley-VCH), Classics in Total Synthesis III (with his former student J.S. Chen, 2011, Wiley-VCH), and Molecules that Changed the World (with his collaborator T. Montagnon, 2008, Wiley-VCH).
His dedication to chemical education is demonstrated by the training of hundreds of doctoral candidates and postdoctoral associates under his supervision, as well as by the hundreds of lectures he has delivered in more than 30 countries worldwide.
