Ole Gisvold was born in Stanley Wisconsin in 1904. He received his B.S. in pharmacy in 1930 and his PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1934 from the University of Wisconsin. In 1935 he joined the College of Pharmacy as an assistant professor and thus began his lifelong association with the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. In 1941 he became a full professor and head of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, a position he held until 1969. Dr. Gisvold retired in 1973 and was professor emeritus until his death in 1977.
Professor Gisvold had a long and distinguished career in medicinal and natural products chemistry. His scientific achievements in natural products research were recognized by the scientific community on numerous occasions throughout his career. He was awarded the Ebert Prize in 1942 and 1953; one of the few people to have received this award twice. He was also the recipient of the American Pharmaceutical Association's Research Achievement Award in Natural Products Chemistry in 1962 and the University of Wisconsin's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1966. Dr. Gisvold had a profound effect on the development of medicinal chemistry here at the University of Minnesota and as one of the principal authors of the well-known Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry he greatly influenced the teaching of medicinal chemistry throughout the nation.
Recipients by Year
2018
Dr. Mark Cushman
Purdue University
"How the Janus Kinases Hijacked Our Topoisomerase I Inhibitor Project"
2016
Dr. François Diederich
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
"Molecular Recognition in Chemical and Biological Systems: A Multi-Dimensional Approach"
2013
Dr. Peter B. Dervan
California Institute of Technology
"Molecular Recognition of DNA by Small Molecules: From Discovery to Applications"
2011
Dr. Edward C. Taylor
Princeton University
"From Butterfly Wing Pigments to Cancer – The Discovery of the New Antitumor Drug Alimta"
2010
Dr. Dennis C. Liotta
Emory University
"New Therapies for Treating Inflammation and Cancer"
2009 Gisvold Symposium Speakers
Natural Products and Antibacterial Drug Discovery
Dr. Courtney C. Aldrich
University of Minnesota
"Inhibition of Natural Product Biosynthesis"
Dr. Robert A. Fecik
University of Minnesota
"Labels for Understanding the Basis of Specificity in Polyketide Synthase Didomains"
Dr. Kenneth A. Jacobson
National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
"Drug Design Based on Purine and Pyrimidine Receptors"
Dr. Natalie C. J. Strynadka
University of British Columbia
“Structure-Based Inhibition of the Glycosyltransferase and Transpeptidase Steps in Bacterial Peptidoglycan Synthesis”
Dr. Laura L. Kiessling
University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Chemical Probes of Carbohydrate Biosynthesis in Mycobacteria"
Recipients by Year
2007
Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn
Ohio State University
"Plant Natural Products as Lead Compounds in Drug Discovery: Still of Interest After All This Time"
2006
Robert J. Linhardt
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
"Heparin: Structure and New Biological Activities in Drug Development"
2003
Dr. Ronald Breslow
Columbia University
"The Two Faces of Bioorganic Chemistry"
2002
Dr. Caroline R. Bertozzi
University of California Berkeley
"Chemical Strategies for Modulating Cell Surface Architecture"
1999
Dr. Dale Boger
The Scripps Research Institute
"Natural Products and Nature's Solutions to the Sequence Selective Recognition of Duplex DNA"
1998
Dr. Koji Nakanishi
Columbia University
"Photoaffinity Studies of Ligand-Receptor Interactions"
1993
Dr. Heinz Floss
University of Washington
"Biosynthesis of Thiopeptide Antibiotics"
1991
Dr. John P.N. Rosazza
University of Iowa
"Metabolism of the Catharanthus Alkaloids:From Streptomyces to Monoamine Oxidase B"
1990
Dr. Lester A. Mitscher
University of Kansas
"Progress in the Chemistry and Biology of the Quinolone Anti-infective Agents"
1987
Dr. Laurence Hurley
University of Texas
"DNA Sequence Specificity as a Basis for Drug Design"
1986
Dr. John M. Cassady
Purdue University
"Discovery and Design of Potential Anticancer Agents"