Alejandro Fernández Barrerro was born in Orense (Spain) in 1949. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1975 at the University of Salamanca under the guidance of Professors Joaquín Pascual de Teresa, Arturo San Feliciano and Inés Sánchez Bellido. After working as Head of Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the Compañía Española de Petróleos Research Center in San Fernando de Henares (Spain), he returned to the University of Salamanca as a Lecturer. He moved to the University of Granada as Full Professor in 1983, where has been Head of the Organic Chemistry Department. He has been also vice-President and President of the Natural Product Group of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry. His scientific and formative labour includes the direction of; 24 projects and contracts subsidized by public organisms and private industries and more than 45 doctoral theses.
Professor Barrero main research interests are the chemistry of natural products in special terpenoids. He has contributions in the discovery of new bioactive molecules in aromatic and medicinal plants from Spain, Morocco and South-America and in the use of new terpenic synthons (sesqui- and diterpenes) to the synthesis of bioactive natural products. In the synthesis of natural products his attention focused on the application of radical cyclization reactions, new couplings catalyzed by transition metals and develop of new reactive and reactions environmental friendly. He is also interested in the biotechnology of filamentous fungi, including Fusarium fujikuroi, Blakeslea trispora and hycomyces blakesleanus. Here the principal objective is the production of fitohormones, carotenes and the discovery of sexual feromones and carotenogenesis compounds.
