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.
Carston “Rick” Wagner, PhD, has been named the 2021 recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s (AACP) Volwiler Research Achievement Award.
Erik Faber has been selected to receive the 2021 Abul-Hajj/Hanna Exceptional Graduate Student Award in Medicinal Chemistry. This award is given yearly for the quantity and quality of research accomplishments, the quality of the original research proposal for the oral exam, the quality of seminars and colloquia, the Graduate Course Grade-point average since entering the program, and service and citizenship in Departmental affairs. Erik is a member of the Georg research group.
A new Team Science Grant has been awarded to Okay Saydam, MSc, PhD (Pediatric Hematology and Oncology) and Gunda Georg, PhD (Medicinal Chemistry and ITDD). Henry Wong, PhD (ITDD and Medicinal Chemistry) will oversee the pharmacokinetic studies. The title is: Exploring Novel Therapeutics for Pediatric and Adult Glioblastoma. The $250,000 award is for two years and is supported by the Minnesota Masonic Charities.
Dr. Vadim J. Gurvich and his collaborator, Dr. George L. Wilcox of the Medical School, received an Office of Academic Clinical Affairs Faculty Research Development Grant for their project “Synthesis and characterization of a novel bivalent peripherally directed analgesic."
Pages
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.