Derek Pratt

Derek is a native of Ottawa and earned his B.Sc. from Carleton University in 1999. A life-changing experience as an undergraduate researcher with Keith Ingold at the National Research Council motivated him to pursue research as a career. Supported by NSERC, he attended Vanderbilt University for his Ph.D. studies with Ned Porter and then carried out post-doctoral research at the University of Illinois with Wilfred van der Donk, supported by the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research. In 2005, Derek was appointed Canada Research Chair in Free Radical Chemistry at Queen’s University, which he renewed following his recruitment to the University of Ottawa in 2010. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2016 and became University Research Chair in Free Radical Chemistry in 2021. He is the recipient of the inaugural Keith Fagnou award (2015) and the Bernard Belleau award (2024) from the Canadian Society for Chemistry and the Bessel Prize of the Humboldt Foundation (2019). His group is focused on the reactivity of organic free radicals – particularly in the context of human health.