Matthew Culberson, Ph.D.

Biography

Faculty Member Since 2025

Dr. Matthew Culberson is a lecturer for the Chemistry and Biochemistry department. His goal is to empower the next generation of STEMists through science education in academia/industry to impact and advance society using his research, writing, teaching, and problem-solving expertise as a trained organic chemist and teacher.

"I was born and primarily raised in Stockton, California. I am soul tied to an expecting Black queen that I share a two-year-old and mini-Schnauzer with. I am a Jew with Sephardic traditions. I looooovvee music. My goal is to have students love and/or appreciate chemistry and develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will help in future courses and in their careers. My successes are rooted in G0d and the unconditional investments made by my mother, grandmother, and wife; all of them being strong, intelligent, spiritually connected, and unapologetically Black women," said Dr. Culberson. 

Teaching Philosophy

"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein.

"Through my academic career, I have gained tools both as a learner and teacher. My philosophy of education is centered in the idea that each item one learns in life is a brick to one’s path to elevation, and the mortar to those bricks is the emotional connection made to learning. Having positive emotions before, during, and after learning solidify information and give students the opportunity to develop their thinking skills. I focus on how to maximize the use of the mind rather than memorizing facts." -- Dr. Matthew Culberson

Education

Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2024
M.S., Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2021
B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Davis, 2018

Select Publications

[2] Culberson, Matthew, Siqi Dong; Wolfe, John,* “Cascade Pd-Catalyzed Intermolecular N-Arylation/Intramolecular Alkene Carboamination Reactions for the Synthesis of Dihydroindoloindoles.” Org. Lett. 2025, 27, 24, 6445 - 6448 DOI:10.1021/acs.orglett.5c01747

[1] Nickerson, Leslie; Bergstrom, Benjamin; Gao, Mingchun; Shiue, Yuan-Shin; Laconsay, Croix; Culberson, Matthew; Knauss, Walker; Fettinger, James; Tantillo, Dean; Shaw, Jared,* “Enantioselective Synthesis of Isochromans by C–H Insertion of Donor/Donor Carbenes.” Chem. Sci. 2020, 11, 494 - 498. DOI: 10.1039/C9SC05111B

Research Interests

Although not currently actively conducting research nor serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) for a laboratory, Dr. Culberson has interests in designing and synthesizing novel small molecules that will address health disparities in diseases that disproportionately affect communities of the African diaspora.

Particularly, Dr. Culberson has ambitions to create drug targets or scaffold candidates for treatment of prostate cancer and sickle cell disease. By leveraging modern organic synthesis and organometallic catalysis, the work will aim to expand the current treatment pipeline of drug products in ways that address disparities related to pharmacophores being inadequate, poorly tolerated, or inaccessible.

The research will focus on developing new synthetic methodologies and synthesizing core scaffolds with potential therapeutic value for life-saving medicines.