About
Biography
Dr. David M. Hitt received his undergraduate education in his birth state at North Carolina State University where he earned a B.S. in chemistry with summa cum laude honors in 2005. He then pursued graduate studies at The University of California, San Diego where he studied metal-promoted cycloaromatization reactions under the guidance of Professor Joseph O’Connor.
After receiving his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2011, he pursued postdoctoral studies through a joint academic/industrial appointment at the University of Montana/ATERIS technologies with Professor Chuck Thompson. There he was involved in the design and synthesis of novel vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) inhibitors and the development of an enzymatic resolution of the racemic pesticide, malathion.
Hitt began at Carroll as a Chemistry Lecturer in 2012 and later transitioned to a tenure-track faculty position in 2014. While at Carroll, he has taught a variety of subjects ranging from introductory and specialized courses in his area of expertise, organic chemistry, to freshman-level general chemistry courses. Hitt was one of several Carroll faculty who developed and currently teach an interdisciplinary course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), Integrated Laboratory, which serves as a capstone experience for students majoring in Chemistry. He has also converted his second-semester Organic Chemistry Lab course into a CURE through the incorporation of multi-step organic synthesis projects of organic compounds relevant for ongoing research at Carroll.
Hitt’s research interests range from topics in physical organic chemistry and organometallics to chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. His research program is currently investigating the structure-activity relationships of different classes of antibiotic compounds through collaboration with faculty in the Carroll Biology department.
Representative Publications
- Hitt, D. M.; Holland, R. L.; Baldridge, K. K.; Cope, S. K.; O’Connor, J. M. “Stereoselective Formation of η 6 -Arene Ruthenium(II) Complexes via Metal- Triggered Bergman and Hopf Cycloaromatizations.” Organometallics, 2017, 36, 4256.
- Hitt, D. M.; Belabassi, Y.; Suhy, J.; Berkman, C. E.; Thompson, C. M. “Chemoenzymatic resolution of rac-malathion” Tetrahedron: Asymmetry, 2014, 25, 529.
- Hitt, D. M.; O’Connor, J. M. “Acceleration of Conjugated Dienyne Cycloaromatization” Chemical Reviews, 2011, 111, 7904.
Areas of Interest
Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Organometallics, Physical Organic Chemistry
Courses Taught
Organic Chemistry I and II, Integrated Lab, Spectrometric Organic Structure Determination, Advanced Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry I and II