Supramolecular chemistry group

Riina AAV is a leader of Supramolecular chemistry group, received her Ph.D. in 2005 from Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), where her thesis focused on the development of total synthesis of 9,11-secosterols. During her Ph.D. studies, she completed an internship with Prof. Alexander Alexakis at the University of Geneva (Switzerland, 2000). After graduation, she spent an academic year as a Fulbright visiting scientist with Prof. Scott Eric Denmark at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (US, 2008-2009), working on the synthesis of chiral iminophosphoranes. In 2010, she was appointed as an Associate Professor at Tallinn University of Technology, and since 2024, she has held a tenured Full Professor position.

Her scientific interests include the development of mechanochemical synthetic methods and the design of chiral macrocyclic molecules, such as hemicucurbiturils. She is also interested in the chiroptical properties of supramolecular systems and their applications, as well as the development of sustainable methods for material recycling.

She has received numerous personal research grants and actively participates in EU Projects, such as INITIO (INnovative chemIcal sensors for enanTioselective detectIon of chiral pOllutants, 2020-2022) and IMPACTIVE (Innovative Mechanochemical Processes to synthesize green ACTIVE pharmaceutical ingredients, 2022-2026). She has served as a vice-dean of R&D at the School of Science at Tallinn University of Technology (2020-2025), and since 2024 leads the Estonian Centre of Excellence in Circular Economy for Strategic Mineral and Carbon Resources (SOURCES). Under her supervision, 9 Ph.D. theses have been completed.