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.
Work in Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose's lab has been featured in recent publications by both Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News and in the German publication Focus Online.
Congratulations to our graduate student poster presentation winners who presented research at MIKIW 2021 this spring. The winners are:
Session A, 1st Place: Caroline Buchholz (Pomerantz Lab)
Session B, 1st Place: Alexander Hurben (Doran Lab)
Maxwell Dillenburg, a graduate student in the Wagner Lab, has received an American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-doctoral Fellowship! The goal of the fellowship program is to positively impact patient and public health by supporting high performing students who possess the skill and aptitude to become outstanding scientists and leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and the government/nonprofit sectors.
Jian Tang (Harki lab) and Yiao Wang (Wagner Lab), have both been selected to receive a 2021-22 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship gives the University's most accomplished Ph.D.
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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: Jian Tang
Graduate student Jian Tang of the Harki Laboratory received a 2020-21 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
Student Spotlight: Erik Faber
Erik Faber was selected to receive the 2021 Abul-Hajj/Hanna Exceptional Graduate Student Award in Medicinal Chemistry.