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Congratulations to Dr. Robert Vince for being selected for induction into the Hall of Fame of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Philip S. Portoghese was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year. The "Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame" was established by the executive committee of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry, American Chemical Society in 2006 (Division's website <http://www.acsmedchem.org/>. Inductees must be members of the Division who have made an overall outstanding contribution to medicinal chemistry through a combination of research, teaching and service. All Hall of Fame members were honored at the 2007 Boston ACS meeting and received a plaque.
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Congratulations to Dr. Rodney Johnson on the 5 year renewal of his NIH Grant entitled, "Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 and Dopamine Receptor Modulation." Dr. Johnson has been continuously funded on this project for 23 years: the second longest continuously funded grant in the Dept. and College of Pharmacy!!
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Swati More Defended Thesis 2/2/2007
3-100 Mayo, 1:30
“Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Glutathione Peptidomimetics as Components of Targeted Prodrugs and Glyoxalase I Inhibitors”
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Welcome New Students 2006
Back row: Dr. Wagner, Director of Graduate Studies, Theresa Aliwarga, Vivek Srinivasan, Erin Michaelson and Rahul Lad.
Front row: Lei Meng, Sonia Das, Sanaa Bardaweel and Sreedhar Tummalapalli.
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Congratulations to Dr. Xing for being awarded a NIH grant titled "Bcl-2 Selective Inhibitors: Development and Application to Cancer Treatment" in the amount of $576,000 over the next four years.
He will be working on it in his lab along with Laingyou Wang, Post-Doc, and Jignesh Doshi, Graduate Student.
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Dr. Baldomero M. Olivera, 2006 Soine Lecturer
Dr. Olivera presented the Soine Lecture on October 10, 2006: Conus Peptides: Drug Discovery from Animal Biodiversity.
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Medicinal Chemistry Distinguished Professor Dr. Portoghese celebrates his birthday with his department and his lab.
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Dr. Georg will be Robert Vince Endowed Chair and McKnight Presidential Chair in Medicinal Chemistry
Gunda Georg, Ph.D., a world-renowned researcher in drug discovery and development, will join the faculty of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy as head of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. She will begin work at the college in early fall 2006 and will be the Robert Vince Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and hold a McKnight Presidential Chair in Medicinal Chemistry. (Read more.)
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Dr. Robert J. Linhardt, 2006 Gisvold Lecturer
Dr. Robert J. Linhardt presented the Gisvold Lecture "Heparin: Structure and New Biological Activities in Drug Development" on April 4, 2006.
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Dr. Abul-Hajj receives the Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal
02/07/2006
Dr. Yusuf Abul-Hajj stepped down last fall after 21 years as Head of the Medicinal Chemistry Department having accomplished, as he puts it, everything he intended to do. Under his leadership the department recruited many renowned faculty members, underwent renovation from an aging research laboratory into a modern, state-of-the-art facility, and successfully merged the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in 1987. Over the years, Dr. Abul-Hajj obtained countless grants and opened unique avenues of funding support that continue to enhance the Department’s growth potential yet today.
In 1984, he took control of a struggling department and with patience, clarity of vision and tireless effort, transformed it into a nationally recognized program. For this and for his many other accomplishments, he was recently awarded the Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal, the College of Pharmacy’s highest honor for lifetime achievement. The ceremony was held on February 17, 2006.
Abul-Hajj is modest when discussing his achievements, crediting fellow faculty members for his success. “Success is not achieved by working alone. I have many people to thank for their contribution and inspiration along the way,” he says. “This has always been a team effort. First and foremost was my family. They have shown me what it means to walk through life with charm and grace.”
After joining the faculty in 1968, Abul-Hajj focused his research on the development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of breast cancer, as well as investigating the underlying mechanism involved in estrogen carcinogenesis. His work is not confined to the College. He has evaluated pharmacy programs from Arizona to Israel, authored over 90 research papers, and is the senior editor of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
While on sabbatical last fall, he returned to the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, where he received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in the early 1960’s. At his alma mater’s request, he returned to develop a medicinal chemistry program, which included mentoring faculty, and lending his knowledge toward setting up their research facility.
University of Kansas professor Gunda Georg, PhD will join the College’s faculty and take over Abul-Hajj’s Department Chair duties next fall. Abul-Hajj, who was instrumental in the selection of his successor, says he looks forward to supporting Georg’s adjustment to her new post, and to watching her bring her own vision to the Medicinal Chemistry Department.
“My tenure as Chairman of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” he says, ”but there comes a time when you have to pass the reins to someone else. I am sure Georg will bring her own flavor to this position and I look forward to watching the department flourish under her leadership.”
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Robert Fecik had a TEL Grant funded, entitled "A Pilot Study to Assess Video Podcasting, Streaming Video, and Audio Podcasting for Supplemental Distance Learning for Students on Two Campuses." The award money will primarily be used to purchase computer hardware and software, and to support a Research Assistant for Summer 2006.
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Dr. Carston R. Wagner was presented two awards at the recent University of Minnesota's Inventor Recognition Ceremony. He was recognized as an inventor with both a patent issued and a commercial license signed in 2005 for his patent "Small Molecules for Inhibition of Function and Drug Delivery to Leukocytes."
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Dr. Robert A. Fecik will be receiving an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant entitled "Synthesis of Tubulysin D and Investigation of Its Tubulin Binding Site" for $720,000 over four years. Dr. David M. Ferguson is a co-investigator.
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AHC Grants Awarded to Medicinal Chemistry Faculty
Dr. Patrick E. Hanna and Dr. Carston R. Wagner (Kylie Walters, PI) are members of a research team that was awarded a 2005 AHC Faculty Research Development grant for research titled "Examining how NAT Polymorphisms Affect Protein Structure, Activity and Stability."
Dr. Carston R. Wagner (PI) is leading an additional research team examining the "Design of Antitumor CAP-Dependent Translation Antagonists," that was also awarded a grant.
The AHC program is designed to support new and expanding interdisciplinary and interscholastic research that is innovative and has a high potential for returns. In all six grants were given AHC wide, each was for approximately $200,000.
