Medicinal Chemistry
Mission of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry
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Education and training of scientists of the highest caliber
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Providing future pharmacy practitioners with the basis for understanding the relationship between molecular structure and the therapeutic, dispositional, and toxicological aspects of drug action
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Improvement of human health through chemical and biological research
A diverse education in chemistry and biology that prepares students for the evolving multidisciplinary research of the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal Chemistry is a dynamic, multifaceted scientific discipline that is dedicated to the improvement of human health through research that leads to the design and development of safe and effective therapeutic, diagnostic, and environmental agents.
Research Areas
Biosafety/ biosecurity, cancer and neurological drug discovery, chemical neuroscience, chemoprevention and carcinogenesis, combinatorial biosynthesis, computer-aided drug design, drug metabolism, gene therapy, high-throughput screening, immunology, NMR, non-hormonal contraception, peptidomimetics and X-ray crystallography.
Faculty Spotlight: Courtney Aldrich
Dr. Aldrich received a $3.8 million NIH grant for the project "Siderophore Inhibitors for Tuberculosis that Block Mycobactin Biosynthesis" on which he is the sole PI. Also, his collaborative research was the focus of a LA times article.
Faculty Spotlight: Natalia Tretyakova
Dr. Natalia Tretyakova has been named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor.
Faculty Spotlight: Gunda Georg
Dr. Gunda Georg’s research towards male contraceptives was featured on several broadcast news outlets including the front page of the Star Tribune.
Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development
The ITDD carries out interdisciplinary research, helps educate the next generation of scientists, and enhances the biomedical research infrastructure by creating opportunities for drug discovery and early pre-clinical drug development.
A Phosphoramidate Strategy Enables Membrane Permeability of a Non-nucleotide Inhibitor of the Prolyl Isomerase Pin1
Schwarz, D. M. C.; Williams, S. K.; Dillenburg, M.; Wagner, C. R.; Gestwicki, J. E. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020, 11 (9), 1704-1710.
Drs. Erin Carlson (PI) and Elizabeth Ambrose (co-PI) were awarded a new R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health for the project "Chemical Methods to Characterize Penicilllin-Binding Protein Function and Interactions.” The grant will provide over $1 million in total funding through 2024.
Dr. Vadim Gurvich was awarded a new $55K contract with the National Institute on Aging for Developing of (-)-Phenserine for Clinical Studies.
Drs. Vadim Gurvich (PI), Gunda Georg (Co-PI), and Michael Walters (Co-PI) received a 2nd-year renewal of their contract with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The contract will provide $845K in funding for medicinal chemistry support on the development of an antagonist for Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
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Research Facilities
Make use of the Department's over 50,000 square feet of modern research laboratory space located within the Academic Health Center and the Biomedical Discovery District. Read more about our instrumentation, laboratories, facilities and faculty research.
Events
Student Spotlight: Anand Divakaran
Graduate Student Anand Divakaran of the Pomerantz Laboratory received a 2020-21 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
Student Spotlight: Connor McDermott
Connor McDermott Received a Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Program Certification from the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI).