Michael Bogdos
@mixalhsmpogdos.bsky.social
55 followers 110 following 22 posts
Chemist (postdoc @ Princeton, PhD @ ETHZ, MSc @ Uni Strathclyde)
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Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Congrats to @mixalhsmpogdos.bsky.social, @sevenroediger.bsky.social, @fruepp.bsky.social, Nathalie, Patrick, Fabio and Jan on this epic study of C-N red. elim. in @jacs.acspublications.org - using causal inference, organometallics, electrochemistry, kinetics and DFT. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
#RobSelects paper of the week #j_a_c_s: Deriving a model for estimating rates of C-X reductive elimination from palladium(II) derived via causal inference. #catalysis https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c06124
If we managed to map the causal structure aka "the data generating process", we are on track to refine the models.

I believe what we presented is approaching that; imprecisions remain e.g. treating CN as exposure and not modeling S -> CN. Hopefully these are eventually resolved.

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As one of my favourite papers puts it:

> As a consequence, linear regression results are notoriously unstable – even minor changes in model specification can lead to coefficient estimates that bounce around like a box full of gerbils on methamphetamines.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
The biggest takeaway from the paper is not the predictive model we use to infer generalisability, but rather the model structure. The coefficients may change if e.g. we find better descriptors. Even if the model is "retrained" in the lingo of data-driven models, the causal structure remains.

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Causal inference lets us visualise, quantify and compare effects. Prior to now, there was no answer to the question "what affects RE most, ligand sterics, electronics, or coordination number?".

Our analysis indicates that electronics is dominant, particularly when changed by lowering CN.

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Instead, we propose that CN affects electronics; for CN (2n - 1) fewer donating ligands surround the metal compared to CN (2n), making it more e-poor accelerating RE.

The relevant relationships for variation only in the ancillary ligand(s) are captured in a DAG:

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Contrary to textbooks, our data don't support an effect of coordination number on rate, once we condition for metal electronics.

i.e. if we ensure that the metal complexes we compare are equally electron-poor, they eliminate at the same rate, even if one is square-planar and one is T-shaped.

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Great to see this published!

In short, we introduced causal inference logic to test which of metal electronics, ancillary ligand sterics and metal coordination number (CN) directly affect the rate of reductive elimination at Pd(II) (and presumably other metals...)

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Congrats to @mixalhsmpogdos.bsky.social, @sevenroediger.bsky.social, @fruepp.bsky.social, Nathalie, Patrick, Fabio and Jan on this epic study of C-N red. elim. in @jacs.acspublications.org - using causal inference, organometallics, electrochemistry, kinetics and DFT. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Pleased to have been awarded the ETH Medal this summer for my PhD thesis!

Many thanks to all those who supported me through my journey, especially my PhD supervisor Prof. Bill Morandi.
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Congrats to @fruepp.bsky.social, Vasily Grebennikov, Mykola Avramenko, Marc-Olivier Ebert "Kinetic, Spectroscopic, and Computational Investigation of Oxidative Aminative Alkene Cleavage Reveals an N-Iodonium-Iminoiodinane Pathway" now @chemrxiv.org - chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Nature Catalysis, my favourite physical chemistry journal
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
We have two open PhD positions to start our new group at University of Geneva!
If you are interested in organometallic chemistry, heterometallic complexes and mechanistic investigations, please contact me. Check more details here:
jobs.unige.ch/www/wd_porta...
Assistant-e (A2) postes de doctorat en chimie inorganique / organométallique (6378)
jobs.unige.ch
Thanks for the suggested reading
Could you please walk me through how this works? I've been trying to understand this argument for ages and cannot find sources with hard numbers. It implies that, excluding marketing costs (which are huge), companies are selling at a loss in all other places which I simply cannot find evidence for.
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Blunt letter to the editor on ACS: "If ACS won’t stand up now, it should stand down." cen.acs.org/business/Rea... #chemsky 🧪⚗️
100 %.

Very frustrating that EU institutions increase funding when they eye US researchers, but don't care about scientists in Europe who leave science for other careers in droves. Why endorse American exceptionalism?

That is to say nothing of the intra EU inequality, a whole other can of worms.
American scientists aren't special. It's the institutions, and willingness to spend on research, that set them apart. Similarly invest here, and you will naturally attract the best talent from *everywhere*.

www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe to burned American scientists: We’ll take you in
The EU’s body for scientific research, as well as local, regional and national governments, are mobilizing to poach top U.S. scholars.
www.politico.eu
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Re-upping this post this morning: Big Pharma CEOs are finally starting to speak out about the Trump administration.

Unfortunately, they’re smiling and clapping.
Pharma CEOS Speaking Up, Damn It
www.science.org
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Biopharma companies and CEOs are keeping their heads down at their own peril. They should speak up about what’s happening to the NIH and other science agencies before it’s too late.

Silence gives consent. And no one should consent to this.
Stand Up And Be Counted
www.science.org
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
When the federal government abandons important areas of funding and leaves a gaping hole in the advancement of science, any prudent funder would fill the hole, not follow suit. I don’t know the rationale here but seriously WTF?

Disclosure: HHMI paid my way through graduate school.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the nation’s largest private funder of biomedical research, yesterday killed a $60 million program aimed at making universities’ STEM education more inclusive. scim.ag/3EtS0US
HHMI kills program aimed at boosting inclusivity in STEM education
“Inclusive excellence” program had committed $60 million to 104 institutions
scim.ag
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
Hey American PIs. If you have undergrad students who, for whatever personal reasons might find it...appropriate to not do grad school in the good ol' US of A for the next 4+ years, I (and my colleagues at UWindsor Chem) are open to applicants. They pay Canadian domestic rates at UWindsor.
Reposted by Michael Bogdos
And you WON'T BELIEVE the incentives the Canadian Government will give you to just do R&D in Canada. It's literally insane. Anyways, happy to talk and connect people if anyone is interested. Things might get rocky for a bit, and staff might be happier living somewhere that thinks they are humans.
How does one include all sources of error for a quantity of interest obtained by fitting a model e.g. rate constants from kinetics?

Simulations give the answer:

atigdnc.netlify.app/post/error_handling/

tldr; fit each dataset, propagate and combine errors (or random effects model). #chemsky
Wrapping up 2024 - quite the year! I defended my PhD, after more than 4 years at ETH.

Here's hoping 2025 has something just as exciting in store!