Seminar Archive


Deparmental Seminar Archive

SPRING 2021

JANUARY 26 

Blocking SARS-COV-2 Cell Entry via Host Protease Inhibition

Analise Roth-Rodriguez, Graduate Student, Ferguson Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 2 

Leveraging Medicinal Chemistry for Target Engagement and Validation in Neurodegeneration and COVID-19

Dr. Kathryn Nelson, Research Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 9 

Physicochemical Properties, i.e. The Foundation of ADME!

Dr. Franco Lombardo, Senior Director, DMPK, Alkermes, Inc.

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 16

**Postdoctoral Research Showcase** 

Comparison of Bioorthogonal β‐Lactone Activity‐Based Probes for Selective Labeling of Penicillin‐Binding Proteins

Dr. Nathaniel Brown, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

Synthesis of C-nucleoside Derivatives as Potent Antivirals

Dr. Tej Poudel, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 23 

Discovery of Molecules to Monitor and Perturb the Activity of the Proteasome

Dr. Darci J. Trader, Assistant Professor, Purdue University

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MARCH 2 

Structure-based Design of Novel Biphenyl Amide Antagonists of TRPMS for Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Dr. Velvet Journigan, Assistant Professor, Marshall University

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MARCH 16 

Design of high affinity ligands and pharmacological tools for the characterization of class A GPCRs

Dr. Steffen Pockes, Assistant Professor, University of Regensburg; Visiting Research Professor, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MARCH 23 

A Tale of Two Cysteines

Dr. Michael Walters, Research Associate Professor, & Director of Lead and Probe Discovery Core, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MARCH 30 

MIKIW Practice Talks

MIKIW Practice Talks

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 13 

Safety in Medicinal Chemistry Research

Rebecca Cuellar, Jodi Ogilvie, and Nancy Rolstad, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 20 

A Window into Alzheimer’s: Are the Eyes a Key to Early Detection and Prevention?

Dr. Swati S. More, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MAY 4 

Therapeutic Strategies for Inhibiting Androgen Receptor and Androgen Receptor Variants in Prostate Cancer

Dr. Scott Dehm, Professor and Apogee Enterprises Chair in Cancer Research, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

MAY 11

**Abul-Hajj/Hanna Exceptional Student Award** 

Exploiting Intrinsic Fluorescent Properties to Develop Selective Allosteric Inhibitors of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2)

Erik Faber, Graduate Student, Georg Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FALL 2020

SEPTEMBER 15 

From HATs to PAINS to DUX4

Dr. Michael Walters, Research Associate Professor and Director of Lead and Probe Discovery, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

SEPTEMBER 22 

Histone Deacetylases: An Emerging Downstream Molecular Target for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder 

Nicholas Weirath, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

SEPTEMBER 29

The Discovery of Taniborbactam - The First Pan-spectrum β-lactamase Inhibitor to Enter Clinical Development

Rui Shi, Graduate Student, Georg Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 6

Orexin 1 Receptor Antagonists as Prospective Therapeutics for Panic Disorder

Tsung-Yun (Kent) Wong, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 13

The Revolution will be Compartmentalized: Miniaturized Chemical Library Synthesis and Microfluidic Screening Technology for Distributed Drug Discovery

Dr. Brian M. Paegel, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California-Irvine

Faculty Host: Dr. Daniel Harki

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 20

Targeting MmpL3 for New Antitubercular Drug Discovery and Development

Dr. Jozef Stec, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Marshall B. Ketchum University

Faculty Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 27

Discovery of Fostemsavir: A Novel Small Molecule Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Attachment Inhibitor

Abhishek Kulkarni, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 3

Targeted Protein Degradation by a Novel Molecular Glue: Discovery of CC-92480 for the Treatment of Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Yutong Liu, Graduate Student, Georg Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 10

Discovery of a Novel anti-Wolbachia Drug as Potential Treatment for Filarial Diseases

Freddys Rodriguez, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 17

Targeting the CGRP Receptor for the Acute Treatment of Migraines: A Structure-based Drug Discovery Approach

Kayla Vinh, Graduate Student, Pomerantz Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

DECEMBER 8

**Student Invited Lecture**

Synthesis of GABAaR Antagonists and Related Chemical Space

Dr. Ryan Shenvi, Professor of Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute

Student Host: Malcolm Cole

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

DECEMBER 15

AUTACs and LYTACs: Emerging Proteasome-Independent Degrader Technologies

Moyosore Orimoloye, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab, University of Minnesota

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

SPRING 2020

JANUARY 21 

Covalent KRAS G12C Inhibitors: Targeting the Elusive Oncoprotein, KRAS

Caroline Buchholz, Graduate Student, Pomerantz Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JANUARY 28 

Biocatalysis and Complex Molecule Synthesis

Dr. Alison Narayan, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

Host: Dr. Daniel Harki

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 4

Sulfur(VI) Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx): Principles and Application in Medicinal Chemistry

Tian Lan, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

 

FEBRUARY 11

Acyldepsipeptides, an Interesting Drug Class Serving as a Potential Treatment for Gram Positive Infections

Ruiqin (Steve) Wang, Graduate Student, Hoye Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 18

Discovery of Novel Small Molecule Activators of Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses

Dr. Howard Cottam, Project Medicinal Chemistry, University of California-San Diego

Host: Dr. David Ferguson

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

FEBRUARY 25

New Developments in Growing Old: Old Senolytic Agents in the Treatment of Aging as a Disease

Jacob Smith, Graduate Student, Doran Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

MARCH 3

Mining the Secret Language of Life for New Medicines

Dr. Paige Stout, Group Leader, Sirenas

Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 21

Discovery, Optimization and Evaluation of GATA4 and NKX2-5 Modulators for Cardiac Regeneration

Nicole Bentz, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 28

The Discovery of Evobrutinib: A Selective Covalent Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitor for the Treatment of Autoimmune Disease

Brandi McKnight, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab

Via Zoom Webcast, 3:30-5:00pm

 

FALL 2019

SEPTEMBER 3 

A Farnesyltransferase Mutant with Dual Orthogonality for Enzymatic Labeling

Garrett Schey, Graduate Student, Distefano Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SEPTEMBER 10 

Unlocking the Mysteries of Amyloid Diseases with Macrocyclic β-Sheet Peptides & the Supramolecular Chemistry of the Antibiotic Teixobactin

Dr. James Nowick, Professor, University of California-Irvine

Host: Dr. Todd Doran

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SEPTEMBER 17

**Distinguished Lecture** 

A Novel Class of Gram-negative PBP Inhibitors Discovered using Rational Design of Both Biochemical Potency and Bacterial Permeation

Dr. Alita Miller, Head of Biology, Entasis Therapeutics

Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SEPTEMBER 24

Co-opting Post-translational Enzymes with New Modalities

Dr. Steven Staben, Associate Director, Senior Scientist, Genentech, Inc.

Host: Dr. Daniel Harki

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 1

Recent Advances in Eliciting Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Response with HIV Vaccines

Peng Ge, Graduate Student, Doran Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 8

**Ole Gisvold Lecture**

The β-Lactam Antibiotics: Creation and Application

Dr. Craig Townsend, Alsoph H. Corwin Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Host: Dr. Carston Wagner

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 15

Exploring Bacterial Genomes for Natural Product Discovery and Development

Dr. Alessandra Eustaquio, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois-Chicago

Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 22

Drugging Undruggable Targets with Macrocyclic Peptides

Dr. Dehua Pei, Kimberly Professor, Ohio State University

Host: Dr. Todd Doran

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

OCTOBER 29

**Philip S. Portoghese Lecture**

Principles, Implementation, and Application of Multitarget Drug Discovery in Alzheimer's Disease

Dr. Maria-Laura Bolognesi, Professor, Università di Bologna

Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 5

Bioengergetics of Mycobacteria as a Potential Target for Drug Discovery

Pooja Hegde, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 12

Cinnamic Anilides as Potent Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore Inhibitors for Treatment of ALS

Jessica Fuller, Graduate Student, Finzel Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

NOVEMBER 19

**Distinguished Lecture**

Sirtuins: From Biochemistry to Inhibitor Development and Back

Dr. Hening Lin, Professor, Cornell University

Host: Dr. Todd Doran

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

DECEMBER 3

Development and Evaluation of PCSK9 Inhibitors for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Parker Flanders, Graduate Student, Ambrose Lab

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

DECEMBER 10

**Distinguished Lecture**

Revisiting the Central Dogma in the Age of Epigenetics and Epitranscriptomics

Dr. Peter Dedon, Singapore Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova

1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SUMMER 2019

MAY 28 

Human Mitochondrial Alanyl-tRNA Synthetase - A Bizarre Enzyme for Bizarre tRNAs

Dr. Joe Chihade, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Carleton College

Host: Dr. Mark Ericson

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JUNE 4

Targeting Serine/Threonine Kinases for Cancer Therapy

Jian Tang, Graduate Student, Harki Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JUNE 25

A Tale of Two Consequences: Modulating Protein Structure and Function Through Cellular Membrane Composition

Dr. Larry Masterson, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hamline University

Host: Dr. Barry Finzel

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JULY 9

Development of 3-Aminobenzothiazole Based Inhibitors of Histidine Kinase

Conrad Fihn, Graduate Student, Carlson Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JULY 16

Development of an Activity-based Probe for PLP-Dependent Enzymes

Scott Brody, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

JULY 30

Development of Probes to Characterize the Regulation of NMDAR by HINT1

Max Dillenburg, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

AUGUST 6

Synthesis of Melanocortin Octapeptide Macrocycles and the Effects of Ligands on GPCR Dimerzation

Zoe Koerperich, Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

AUGUST 13

Challenges and Progress in Studying Penicillin-Binding Proteins

Josh Shirley, Graduate Student, Carlson Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

AUGUST 20

Toward the Discovery of Inhibitors of APOBEC3B DNA Cytosine Deaminase

Michael Grillo, Graduate Student, Harki Lab

1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SPRING 2019

JANUARY 22
Academic Drug Discovery: Playing to the Strengths to Address Challenging Targets & Diseases
Dr. Donna Huryn, Research Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Host: Dr. Kathryn Nelson
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 5
MeCP2 Gene Therapy: A Promising New Treatment for Rett Syndrome
Caitlin Jokipii Krueger, Tretyakova Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 12
Targeting the Stroma-tumor Interaction in Pancreatic Cancer
Erik Faber, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 19
Development of Selective M5 Negative Allosteric Modulators for Opioid Use Disorder
Dr. Carrie Jones, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 26
Discovery of Novel Anticoagulants: New Frontiers and Lessons Learned
Nan Wang, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MARCH 5
Biophysical Chemistry of Large Antiviral-Polyamide DNA Interactions
Dr. Cynthia Dupureur, Professor and Chair, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Host: Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

March 12
Departmental Safety Training
Dr. Rebecca A. Cuellar, Research Projects Specialist, University of Minnesota
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MARCH 26
MIKIW Practice Talks

APRIL 9
**Distinguished Lecture**

The Dopamine Synapse
Dr. David Sulzer, Professor, Columbia University

Host: Dr. Todd Doran
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 16
From Bench to Clinic: The Discovery of Fenebrutinib, a Highly Selective Btk Inhibitor, for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases
Dr. Wendy Young, Senior Vice President, Small Molecule Drug Discovery, Genentech, Inc.

Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

APRIL 23 
Human Milk Oligosaccharides as Narrow-Spectrum Antimicrobial Agents against Group B Strep
Dr. Steven Townsend, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University

Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

APRIL 30
Targeting and Probing RNA: Biochemical and Biophysical Approaches
Dr. Christine Chow, Professor, Wayne State University
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MAY 7
**Abul-Hajj/Hanna Awardee Presentation**

Synthesis and Evaluation of Metabolically Stabilized Analogs and Conjugates of Pironetin
Sara Coulup, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MAY 14
**Special Seminar**
Identification of E.coli-produced Colibactin DNA Adducts using Mass Spectrometry: A Roadmap for Natural Product Genotoxin Discovery
Dr. Peter Villalta, Research Professor Candidate, NCI Research Specialist, Mass Spectrometry Facility Coordinator, University of Minnesota
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

FALL 2018

SEPTEMBER 4
New DNA Repair Mechanisms Revealed from Bacterial Resistance to Genotoxic Natural Products
Dr. Brandt Eichman, Professor, Dept. Biological Sciences & Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University
Host: Dr. Barry Finzel
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 18
Restoring Vision through Chemical Photoswitches; A Potential Therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa
Alexander Hurben, Doran Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 25
The Development and Usage of Fluorescent Probes for Surgical Tumor Removal
Samantha Kennelly, Harki Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 25
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of New Drugs for African Sleeping Sickness
Dr. Amy Dounay, Assistant Professor, Colorado College
Host: Dr. Michael Walters
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 2
Design of Novel PDE2A Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cognitive Disorders
Brian Gabet, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 16
Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture
Allosteric Modulators of GPCRs as a Novel Approcah for Treatment of Schizophrenias
Dr. P. Jeffrey Conn, Lee E. Limbird Professor, Vanderbilt University
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 23
Taito O. Soine Memorial Lecture
Discovery of Novel Anticoagulants: New Frontiers and Lessons Learned
Dr. Ruth Wexler, Executive Director, Bristol-Meyers Squibb
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

October 30
Phenazine Antibiotics and Indole Alkaloids: New Platforms for Discovery
Dr. Robert Huigens III, Assistant Professor 
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 6
A Molecular Chaperone Approach to Treat Transthyretin Amyloidosis
Jacob Bouchard, Doran Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 13
Targeting the Immunomodulator SPPL2a as a Novel Approach to Treating Multiple Sclerosis
Jacob Patterson, Doran Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 20 
IRAK-4 Inhibitors for Inflammation
Md Abdullah Al Noman, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 27
Beta-Secretase Research at Amgen: Past, Present and Future
Dr. Jennifer Allen, Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Amgen
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

DECEMBER 4
Inhibitors of Post-translational Proteases: Overcoming Resistance to Targeted Therapies in Cancer
Dr. James Janetka, Associate Professor, Washington University
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

DECEMBER 11
Distinguished Lecture
How Cytochrome P450 and Other Redox Enzymes Make and Break C-C Bonds: Relevance to Drugs and Natural Products
Dr. F. Peter Guengerich, Tadashi Inagami Professor, Vanderbilt University
Host: Dr. Robert Turesky
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

DECEMBER 18
Epigenetic Modulators as Potential Therapeutics for Cancer and Other Diseases
Dr. Patrick Woster, Endowed Chair and Professor, Medical University of South Carolina
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SUMMER 2018

JUNE 5
Potentiation of Multiple Antibacterial Agents in MRSA and M. tuberculosis
John Schultz, Aldrich Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

June 7
Sperm Tales: The Manchette as a Target for Male Contraception?
Dr. Jerry Strauss, Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
105 717 Delaware Street SE (Twin Cities), 12:30pm

June 8
The Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Melanocortin-4 Receptor Probes
Dr. Mark Ericson, Haskell-Luevano Lab
105 717 Delaware Street SE (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JUNE 26
N-Terminal BET Bromodomain Inhibition using MAP-Kinase Inhibitors
Anand Divakaran, Pomerantz Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JULY 24
Structural Targeting of the Hyaluronan Binding Domain of CD44
Bill McCue, Finzel Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JULY 31
Mining Unexpected Chemical Space: Bioterror Countermeasures and Geopharmaceuticals
Connor McDermott, Ambrose Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 7
Development of Fibronectin-based Chemically Self-assembled Nanorings (CSANS) for Immunotherapy
Ellie Mews, Wagner Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 14
Development of Protein and DNA Adduct Biomarkers from Carcinogens in Cooked Meats and Tobacco Smoke by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Dmitri Konorev, Turesky Lab
1-450 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 28
Synthesis and Evaulation of Novel β-lactam Antibiotics for Drug-resistant Tuberculosis
Malcolm Cole, Aldrich Lab
105 717 Delaware Street SE (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SPRING 2018

JANUARY 16
Probing the Dynamics of Biomolecules in Crystals and in Solution
David Case, Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers University 
Host: Dr. David Ferguson
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JANUARY 23
Harnessing the Winstein Rearrangement for Chiral Amine Synthesis
Joseph Topczewski, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Courney Aldrich
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JANUARY 26
Caspase-2 as Novel Target for Tauopathy-related Cognitive Decline
Kathryn Nelson, Ph.D., Walters Lab
105 717 Delaware St. SE (Twin Cities), 2:30-4:00pm

JANUARY 30
Endogenous Biomarkers for Transporter Function
Griff Humphreys, Executive Director, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 6
Chemical Tools for Studies of Biological Systems
Blake Peterson, Regents Distinguished Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 13
Disrupting Glycosomal Import: A Novel Drug Target for the Treatment of Trypanosomias
Garrett Schey, Distefano Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 20
Safety Seminar
Rebecca Cuellar, Associate Research Professor, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 27
Targeting a Molecular Chaperone: Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Beyond
Conrad Fihn, Carlson Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MARCH 6
Campus Climate: Preventing Harrasment 
Paul Ang and Malik Mitchell
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

APRIL 3
Ole Gisvold Memorial Lecture
How the Janus Kinases Hijacked Our Topoisomerase I Inhibitor Project
Mark Cushman, Distinguished Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

APRIL 10
Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture
Drug Discrimination: A Behavioral Technique to Investigate Centrally-acting Agents
Richard Glennon, Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

APRIL 17
Development of Chemical Probes for Transcription Factor Interactions
Terry Moore, Assistant Professor, Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

APRIL 24
Accelerating Translation: Strategies for Rapid Probe Development, Drug Combination Discovery, and Precision Medicine
Craig Thomas, Leader, Chemistry Technologies, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Host: Dr. Michael Walters
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MAY 1
Abul-Hajj/Hanna Awardee Talk
Design of Antitubercular Chemotherapeutic Agents that Evade Resistance
Joseph Buonomo, Aldrich Lab 
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

FALL 2017

SEPTEMBER 5
The Chemical Biology Protein Prenylation, the Anchor of Life
Mark Distefano, Distinguished McKnight Professor & Merck Professor, University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Rick Wagner
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 19
Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions in the Molecular Chaperone Networks
Jason Gestwicki, Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UC San Francisco
Host: Dr. Todd Doran
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SEPTEMBER 26
Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs): New Strategy Targeting the Undruggable Proteome
Jian Tang, Harki Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 3
Distinguished Seminar
Computing Cures: Discovery through the Lens of a Computational Microscope
Rommie Amaro, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 17
Discovering and Developing Therapies for Cystic Fibrosis That Restore Function to the Defective CFTR Protein
Eric Olson, Chief Scientific Officer, Syros Pharmaceuticals
Hosts: Drs. Peter Dosa and Dan Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 24
New Insights Into Protein and Nucleic Acid Acetylation from Chemoproteomics
Jordan Meier, Investigator, Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute
Host: Dr. Dan Harki
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

OCTOBER 31
Neorpeptides and Their Effect on Human Behavioral Disorders
Zoe Koerperich, Haskell-Luevano Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 7
Harnessing Conformational Dynamics for Selective Kinase Inhibition
Nicholas Levinson, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 14
Simple Organic Chemistry for Complex Cancer Problems
Venkatram Mereddy, Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice & Pharamceutical Sciences, Associate Professor of Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 21
Phage Therapy: A Promising Alternative Treatment for Bacterial Infections
Joshua Shirley, Carlson Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

NOVEMBER 28
Development of G-protein Biased µ-Opioid Receptor Agonists for Improved Pain Therapies
Maxwell Dillenburg, Wagner Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

DECEMBER 5
Small Molecule Activation of the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) Pathway for Treatment of Hypoxia Related Conditions
Michael Grillo, Harki Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

DECEMBER 12
Therapeutic Approaches to Treat Cocaine Overdose
Scott Brody, Aldrich Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

SUMMER 2017

MAY 16
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications of EpCAM-Targeted Fibronectin
Cliff Csizmar, Graduate Student, Wagner Group
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MAY 18, Thursday Special Seminar
Anticancer Drug Design Targeting Carbonic Anhydrase and a Database of Protein-Compound Binding Gibbs Energy, Enthalpy, Entropy, Heat Capacity and Volume Correlations with the Crystal Structure
Dr. Daumantas Matulis, Professor and Head of Department of Biothermodynamics and Drug Design, Vilnius University 
Host: Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

MAY 30
Targeting Polyketide and Nonribosomal Peptide X and a Database of Protein-Compound Binding Klebsiella Oxytoca for Treating Tuberculosis, and Hemorrhagic Colitis
Evan Alexander, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JUNE 6
Investigation of Melanacortin-4 Receptor Modulators and Screening Strategies
Katlyn Fleming, Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano Lab 
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JULY 11
Kinetic and Structural Comparison of HINT1 and HINT2: Two Similar Enzymes with Separate Biological Roles?
Alex Strom, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JULY 18
Chemical Probes for Modulation of Transcription Factor Signaling
Kellan Passow, Graduate Student, Harki Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

JULY 25
Chemical Biology of DNA Methylation and Demethylation
Jenna Fernandez, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 1
Design and Synthesis of Dihydropyrimidine Analogs as BRDT Selective Inhibitors for Male Contraception
Jiewei Jiang, Graduate Student, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 8
Discovery of Selective Inhibitors and Fluorescence Tools for Testis-Specific Bromodomain (BRDT)
XIanghong Guan, Graduate Student, Georg Lab
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

AUGUST 15
Distinguished Seminar
Small molecules for the treatment of Critical Infectious Diseases
Dr. Ulrike Holzgrabe, Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Würzburg
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm

 

SPRING 2017

JANUARY 10
Special Seminar: Interviewing Faculty Candidate
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 160 Life Science (Duluth), 3:30pm

JANUARY 17
Selective Targeting of BCI-2 for the Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with BH3 Mimetics
Ellie Hofer, Graduate Student, Wagner Group

JANUARY 24
Proteogenomic approaches towards novel biomarkers of colorectal cancer
Dmitri Konorev, Graduate Student, Turesky Lab 

JANUARY 31
VX-770 (Ivacaftor) and Beyond: The Development of Small Molecules to Treat Cystic Fibrosis
Anand Divakaran, Graduate Student, Pomerantz Lab

FEBRUARY 7
Repurposing Drugs of the Past: Combating Resistance
John Schultz, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab

FEBRUARY 9
Special Seminar: Interviewing Faculty Candidate
5-125 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 165 Life Science (Duluth), 4:30 - 6:00pm

FEBRUARY 14
Special Seminar: Interviewing Faculty Candidate
1-451 Moos Tower (Twin Cities), 3:30-5:00pm
302 Heller Hall, Duluth

FEBRUARY 21
The Application of Metabolomics and Precision Medicine in Cancer Treatment
Amanda Degner, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab

FEBRUARY 23
Special Seminar: Interviewing Faculty Candidate
3-100 Mayo (Twin Cities), 165 Life Science (Duluth), 3:30-5:00pm

FEBRUARY 28
From Simple 2D Shapes to Complex 3D Nanostructures: DNA Origami as a Drug Delivery Vehicle
Connor McDermott, Graduate Student, Ambrose Lab

MARCH 7
CXCR4 Drug Target: Using Chimeric Peptides for Mechanistic Studies
Katherine Schlasner, Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano group 

MARCH 9
Special Seminar: Interviewing Faculty Candidate
3-100 Mayo (Twin Cities), 165 Life Science (Duluth), 4:30-6:00pm

MARCH 14
Safety Meeting
1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30pm

MARCH 21
Targeting de novo Biosynthesis of Cysteine for Novel Therapeutics of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
William McCue, Graduate Student, Finzel Lab 

MARCH 28
MIKI Practice Talks

APRIL 4 - No Seminar (253rd ACS Meeting)

APRIL 11
Targeted Covalent Inhibitors: Evolution of a New Paradigm in Drug Design
Dr. Thomas Baillie, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Dean Emeritus University of Washington 
Host: Dr. Robert Turesky

APRIL 18
Targeting G-Quadruplex RNA by Peptide Nucelic Acid Oligomers
Dr. Bruce Armitage, Professor of Chemistry, Co-director CNAST Carnegie Mellon University
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova

APRIL 25
From Structural Modeling to Molecular Therapeutics, an Integrative Perspective
Dr. Arthur Olson, Professor of Molecular Biology, Director of Molecular Graphics Library, The Scripps Research Institute
Host: Dr. Barry Finzel

MAY 2 - Abul-Hajj/Hanna Awardee Talk
Bivalent Ligands as Pharmacological Probes for the Melanocortin Receptors: The Bivalent Advantage.
Cody Lensing, Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano group 

MAY 9 - No Seminar (Finals Week)

 

FALL 2016

SEPTEMBER 6 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
All Student Meeting with Director of Graduate Studies

SEPTEMBER 13 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM (Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecturer)
Allosteric Inhibition of Cyclooxygenases and the Mechanism of Action of NSAIDS
Dr. Lawrence Marnett, Professor of Cancer Research, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacology, Dean of Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Host: Dr. Philip Portoghese

SEPTEMBER 20 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM (Distinguished Seminar Lecturer)
CPP-115: A Novel GABA Aminotransferase Inactivator and Potential New Treatment for Epilepsy, Addiction, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Dr. Richard Silverman, Patrick G. Ryan/Aon Professor, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

SEPTEMBER 27 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
Approaching 'Undruggable' Targets Using both Small Molecules and Millamolecules
Dr. Percy Carter, Vice-President and Head, Discovery Chemistry, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Host: Dr. Michael Walters

SEPTEMBER 29 - 717 Delaware Room 105, 10:00AM (Special Seminar)
Lessons from Combating Superbugs
Dr. Yuk Sham, Assistant Professor, Center for Drug Design, University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

OCTOBER 4 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
An Efficient and Rapid Alternative Route to the Discovery of Highly Active Probes / Hits
Dr. Richard Houghten, Founder, CEO & President, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

OCTOBER 11 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM 
Leveraging Chemistry to Combat Encephalitic Alphaviruses – Investigating Novel Transformations And Structural Templates
Dr. Jennifer Golden, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Associate Director of Medicinal Chemistry Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

OCTOBER 18 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
Biologically Active Compounds Based on the Intermediates of Isoprenoid Biosynthesis
Dr. David Wiemer, F. Wendell Miller Professor of Chemistry, University of Iowa
Host: Dr. David Ferguson

OCTOBER 25 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30pm
Cutting into the Substrate Dominance: Chemistry Approaches toward Inhibiting HIV RNase H
Dr. Zhengqiang Wang, Associate Professor, Program Director of Chemistry, Center for Drug Design, University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

NOVEMBER 1 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30pm
Understanding the Regulation of Cholesterol Metabolism in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
Dr. Shaun Lott, Associate Professor in Structural Biology, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

NOVEMBER 8 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
Recent Applications of Boronic Acids for Bioconjugation and Macromolecule Delivery
Malcolm Cole, Graduate Student, Aldrich Group

NOVEMBER 15 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM (Soine Memorial Lecturer)
Botanicals as Natural Alternatives to Hormone Replacement Therapy: Role in Breast Cancer Prevention
Dr. Judy Bolton, Professor and Head, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois at Chicago
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova

NOVEMBER 29 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM
Targeting Cancer Mutability
Dr. Reuben Harris, Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biophysics University of Minnesota
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki

DECEMBER 6 - 1-451 Moos Tower, 3:30PM 
Undruglike Drugs for Undruggable Targets
Dr. Adrian Whitty, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Boston University
Host: Dr. Daniel Harki

DECEMBER 13 - Canceled

 

 

SUMMER 2016

MAY 27 - Jennifer Prescher
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
Expanding the Imaging Toolbox
Host: Carston Wagner

MAY 31 - Joseph Buonomo
Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab
From Methods to (Reducing) Madness: Phosporus Recycling and B-Lactam Targeted Delivery of Antibiotics

JUNE 28 - Ozgun Kilic
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Engineering Anti-EGFR Fibronectin Protein Nanorings

JULY 19 - Sara Coulup
Graduate Student, Georg Lab
The Design and Synthesis of Metabolically Stabilized Pironetin Analogs
 

SPRING 2016

JANUARY 26 - Dr. Gary Piazza
Chief, Drug Discovery Research Center, Abraham A. Mitchell Distinguished Investigator, Prof. of Oncologic Sciences and Pharmacology, University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute
Phosphodiesterase 10A, A Novel Anticancer Target
Host: Chengguo Xing

FEBRUARY 2 - Dr. Franҫois Diederich
Prof of Organic Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Gisvold Memorial Seminar)
Molecular Recognition in Chemical and Biological Systems:A Multi-Dimensional Approach
Host: Dan Harki

FEBRUARY 9 - Dr. Seth Cohen
Prof. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego
Fragment-based Drug Discovery for Metalloprotein Targets
Host: Dan Harki

FEBRUARY 16 - Dr. Upendra Argikar
Investigator III at Novartis
Ocular Metabolism: Considerations for Drug Discovery
Host: Dr. Rory Remmel

FEBRUARY 23 - Dr. Emily Scott
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas
Structure, Function, and Inhibition of Steroidogenic Human Cytochrome P450 17A1: Prostate Cancer Target
Host: Dr. Rory Remmel

MARCH 1 - Kellan Passow
Graduate Student, Harki Group
Enhancing the Therapeutic Potency of RNAi through Chemical Modifications of RNA

MARCH 8 - Xianghong Guan
Graduate Student, Georg Group
Folate-Targeted Therapies for Cancer

MARCH 22 - Jenna Fernandez
Graduate Student, Tretyakova Group
Recent Applications of the CRISPR-Cas9 System and its Impact on Cancer Research

MARCH 29 - Dr. Xiaohua Peng
Associate Prof. of Organic Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
ROS-Activated DNA Cross-Linking Agents and Their Medical Application
Host: Dr. David Ferguson

APRIL 12 - Katlyn Fleming
Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano Group
Development of a Monomeric Peptide Triagonist for the Treatment of Diabetes and Obesity

APRIL 19 - Dr. Sheila David
Prof. of Chemical Biology, University of California, Davis
Revealing the Secrets of the Base Excision Repair Glycosylases Using Chemical Biology Approaches
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova

APRIL 26 - Kimberly Maize
Graduate Student, Finzel Lab, Abul-Hajj/Hanna Awardee Seminar
Beyond Sofosbuvir: Structural Trajectory of Nucleoside Phosphoramidate Activation

MAY 3 -Dr. Yinsheng Wang
Prof. of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside
Occurrence, Repair and Biological Consequences of DNA Lesions
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova 

FALL 2015

SEPTEMBER 8 -Cliff Czismar
Graduate Student, Wagner Group
Advancing Anticoagulant Therapy with Targeted Reversal Agents

SEPTEMBER 15 - Dr. Craig Lindsley
Portoghese Seminar Lecturer Prof. of Pharmacology and Chemistry, Vanderbilt University
Allosteric Modulation Targeting mGlu1 and PLD: New Insights And Therapeutic Potential
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

SEPTEMBER 22 - Dr. Kim Janda
Distinguished Seminar Lecturer and Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Prof of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute
Merging of Chemistry and Biology: In Search of Molecules with Translational Function
Host: Dr. Elizabeth A. Ambrose

SEPTEMBER 29 - Dr. Nadja Cech
Associate Prof., University of North Carolina Greensboro
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

OCTOBER 6 - Dr. Nathanael Gray
Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Student Selected Seminar
Host: David Huang

OCTOBER 13 - Dr. Daniel Erlanson
President of Carmot Therapeutics
Host: Dr. Mike Walters

OCTOBER 20 - Alex Strom
Graduate Student, Wagner Group
mPGES-1 Inhibitors: Progress in the Rational Design of Novel Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutics

OCTOBER 27 -Dr. Joel Barrish
Distinguished Seminar Lecturer Vice President Discovery Chemistry at Bristol-Myers Squibb
Innovation in Kinase Inhibitor Drug Discovery: Evolution of a Drug Target Class
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

NOVEMBER 3 - Dr. Barbara Timmermann
Distinguished Lectureship, University Distinguished Professor, the University of Kansas
Discovery and Investigation of Therapeutically Important Plant Natural Products
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

NOVEMBER 10 - Jiewei Jiang
Graduate Student, Georg Group
Selective inhibition of Grp 94, an isoform of heat shock protein 90, for cancer chemotherapy

NOVEMBER 17 - Evan Alexander
Graduate Student, Aldrich Group
Metallo Beta-Lactamase: Inhibitors to Protect Our Last Line of Defense Against Infectious Diseases

DECEMBER 8 - Dr. Jonathan Vennerstrom
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Discovery of antimalarial ozonides OZ277 and OZ439
Host: Dr. Courtney Aldrich

DECEMBER 15 - Dr. Jerod Skyberg
Assistant Prof. of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri Medicinal Chemistry
Immunity of Brucellosis and Tularemia

 

SUMMER 2015

June 2, 2015 - Cody Lensing
Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Bivalent Ligands as Pharmacological Probes for Melanocortin Receptors

June 16, 2015 - Matt Bockman
Graduate Student, Aldrich lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Synthesis and Biochemical of Nucleotide-based Bisubstrate Inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Biotin Protein Ligase (MtBPL)

June 23, 2015 - Dr. James Wollack
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, St. Catherine University
Site-specific Enzymatic Modification of CAAX Containing Proteins with Bioorthogonal Tags Capable of Strain Promoted Cyclcoaddition
Host: Dr. Natalia Tretyakova

June 30, 2015 - Carter Eiden
Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Synthesis and Kinetic Characterization of Mechanism-based Inhibitors of Tubercular BioA

July 7, 2015 - Harrison (Trent) West
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Design and Synthesis of Targeted Pro-nucleotides

July 14, 2015 - Andrea Wisniewski
Graduate Student, Georg Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Discovery of BRDT Inhibitors by Fragment-based Drug Design

July 28, 2015 - Christopher Seiler
Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Epigenetic Regulation of Cytosine Methylation, Hydroxymethylation, Formylation, and Carboxylation in Normal and Cancer Cells

August 4, 2015 - Jacob Petersburg
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Chemically Self-assembled Antibody Nanoring (CSAN) Enabled Immunotherapy Targeting Cancer Cell Markers EpCam and cD133

August 11, 2015 - Erick Carlson
Graduate Student, Georg Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Discovery of Steroidal Blockers of the CatSper Channel Complex and Development of Potent and Selective Aminocyclopentitol Inhibitors of GBA2

September 1, 2015 - Emily Boldry
Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, U of MN
Ethnic Differences in Metabolism of 1,3-buatadiene and Lung Cancer Risk
2-690 Moos Tower

SPRING 2015

January 27, 2015 - Dr. Donald Lo
Director, Center for Drug Discovery & Assoc. Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University
3-D Brain Tissue Models for CNS Drug Discovery: Adventures with Natural & Unnatural Products
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

February 10, 2015 - Dr. Erin Carlson
Assoc. Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota
Chemical Probes for Histidine Kinase Profiling & Inhibitor Discovery
Host: Dr. Gunda Georg

February 24, 2015 - Dr. Peter Madrid
Assoc. Program Director at the Center for Chemical Biology, SRI
Anti-infective Drug Discovery at a Non-Profit Institute: 1) New Drugs for TB & 2) Drug Repurposing for Ebola
Host: Dr. Elizabeth A Ambrose

March 3, 2015 - Dr. Allen Reitz
President of the Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research (IHVR), Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute at the University of Pennsylvania
Chemical & Structural Biology of Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen EBNA12 & Derivatives of Myricanol that Autophagic Tau Clearance
Host: Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano

March 10, 2015 - Dr. Brian Roth
Professor of Pharmacology/Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Protein Therapeutics & Translational Proteomics at the University of North Carolina
Portoghese Lectureship: Genome Wide Approaches to GPCR Chemical Biology
Host: Dr. Chengguo Xing

April 14, 2015 - Dr. William Chain
Asst. Professor of Natural Products & Experimental Therapeutics & Asst. Professor of Chemistry at University of Hawaii, Manoa
Chemistry and Biology of Englerin A
Host: Dr. Chengguo Xing

April 21, 2015 - Dr. Frank Raushel
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Davidson Professor of Science at Texas A&M University
2015 Distinguished Lectureship: Evolution of Enzymes for Catalytic Hydrolysis of Organophosphate Nerve Agents
Host: Dr. Elizabeth A Ambrose

April 28, 2015 - Adam Zarth Abul-Hajj-Hanna Exceptional Graduate Student
Graduate Student – Hecht Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry at University of Minnesota
Analyses of the Metabolisms and Detoxification or DNA Damage of the Human Carcinogens Benzene and N′-Nitrosonornicotine

May 5, 2015 -  Dr. David Chenoweth
Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University of Pennsylvania
Chemical Approaches to Probing, Manipulating, and Imaging Biological Systems
Host: Dr. Dan Harki

FALL 2014

September 2, 2014 – Aniekan Okon
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Development of Phosphoramidate Pronucleotide Diester Bearing an Anchimeric-Assistance Moiety

September 9, 2014 – Dr. Michael Wendt
Associate Research Fellow, Oncology Discovery Chemistry Abbvie
Discovery of ABT-199 (GDC-0199), a First-in-Class BCL-2 Selective Inhibitor

September 16, 2014 – Sara Coulup
Graduate Student, Georg Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Modulators of the Metabotropic Glutamate 4 Receptor as Potential Therapeutics for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
 
September 23, 2014 – Student Selected Seminar: Dr. Michael Pollastri
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Northeastern University
Repurposing Kinase Targeted Compounds as Efficient Leads for Neglected Tropical Disease Drug Discovery

September 30, 2014 – Soine Lecture: Dr. Jim Wells
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California, San Francisco
Drug Discovery at Challenging Interfaces: “the High Hanging Fruit”
 
October 7, 2014 – Joseph Buonomo
Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Progress in the Design of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Inhibitors: from Substrate Mimics to to α-Ketoheterocycle Irreversible Inhibitors
 
October 14, 2014 – Dr. Corey Strickland
Director, Structural Chemistry at Kenilworth Merck Research Labs
Fragment-Based Design of BACE Inhibitors

October 21, 2014 – Ozgun Kilic
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
The Recent Studies on NIMA-related Kinases for Potential Cancer Therapeutics
 
October 28, 2014 – Dr. Jill Siegfried
Professor & Head, Department of Pharmacology
University of Minnesota
Estrogens and Lung Cancer

November 4, 2014 – Dr. Ling Li
Professor, Department of Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology
University of Minnesota
Protein Prenylation & Alzheimer's Disease
 
November 11, 2014 – Dr. Daniel Romo
Professor / Director, Department of Chemistry / Natural Products LINCHPIN Lab
Texas A&M University

November 18, 2014 – Jayme Dahlin
Pre-Doctoral Fellow in Pharmacology & Toxicology, PhRMA Foundation Medical Scientist Training Program
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
PAINS in the Assay: Chemical Mechanisms of Bioassay Promiscuity and Readout Interference Observed during a Sulfhydryl-Scavenging High-Throughput Screen
 
December 2, 2014 - Dr. Gunda Georg
Professor and Head,  Department of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota
Robert Vince Endowed Chair
McKnight Presidential Chair in Medicinal Chemistry
Director - Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development
Responsible Conduct of Research

December 9, 2014 – Dr. Harry Orr
Professor / Director, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology / Institute for Translational Neuroscience
University of Minnesota

SUMMER 2014

June 3, 2014 – Dr. Stanislav Gobec
Development of New Inhibitors of Cathepsin B and Butyrylcholinesterase
Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy
University of Ljubljana
 
June 10, 2014 – Dr. Hiroshi Nagase
Design and Synthesis of Opioid Receptor Type Selective Ligands
Professor, International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine
University of Tsukuba, Japan
 
June 24, 2014 – Kim Maize
Structural Insights into Two Protein:Ligand Systems
Graduate Student, Finzel Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota   
 
July 1, 2014 – David Huang
The Synthesis and Evaluation of Pironetin and Related Analogues as Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents
Graduate Student, Georg Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

July 8, 2014 – Adam Zarth
Analysis of Urinary and DNA Biomarkers of Exposure to Environmental Toxicants
Graduate Student, Hecht Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
 
John WidenJuly 22 – John Widen
Development of Cysteine Reactive Alkyne Probes and Target Identification in Human Cancers
Graduate Student, Harki Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

July 29, 2014 – Arnie Groehler
Evaluation of the Biological Consequences of DNA Adduction by 3,4-Epoxy-1-butene and Nitrogen Mustards
Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

August 5, 2014 – Skye R. Doering
Design, Synthesis, and Pharmacological Evaluation of Peptides and Peptidomimetics Targeting the Melanocortin Receptors
Graduate Student, Haskell-Luevano Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

August 19 – Dr. Mark Ji
Hot Spot-based Design of Selective Small Inhibitors for Protein-Protein Interactions
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Utah
 
Monday, August 25, 2014 – Dr. Sunil David
Mission Possible: Making Vaccines Work Better - Exploration of Toll-like Receptor Agonists as Candidate Vaccine Adjuvants
Associate Professor,  Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas

September 2 – Aniekan Okon
Development of Phosphoramidate Pronucleotide Diester Bearing an Anchimeric-Assistance Moiety
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

SPRING 2014

January 21, 2013 – Dr. Cynthia Dowd
Assistant Professor, The Department of Chemistry
The George Washington University
"Dxr Inhibitors to Combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Other Human Pathogens"
 
January 28, 2014 – Erick Carlson
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Small Molecule Alteration of Stem Cell Fate: Applications in Regenerative Medicine"
Advisor: Gunda Georg
 
February 4, 2014 – Chris Seiler
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Hepatitis C Virus: RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Inhibitors – a New Opportunity for Boron"
Advisor: Natalia Tretyakova

February 11, 2014 – Dr. Daniel V. LaBarbera
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado
"Drug Discovery & Preclinical Development of Anticancer Agents: Applications of Novel 3D Multicellular Tumor Spheroid Models"

February 18, 2014 – Carter Eiden
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry,University of Minnesota
"Long Non-coding RNA: Essential Components of Mammalian Cell Regulation & a Novel Class of Potential Therapeutic Targets"
Advisor: Courtney Aldrich

February 25, 2014 – Emily Boldry
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Liver X Receptor Agonists: a Potential Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease"
Advisor: Natalia Tretyakova

March 11, 2014 – Andi Wisniewski
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"The Treatment and Prevention of Osteoporosis by Small Molecules"
Advisor: Gunda Georg
 
March 25, 2014 – Harrison Trent West
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Targeting IRE1a Pathway of the Unfolded Protein Response as an Anticancer Strategy"
Advisor: Carston R. Wagner
 
April 1, 2014 – Dr. Jacquin Niles
Pfizer-Laubach Career Development Associate Professor, Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Chemical and Genetic Tools for Probing Malaria Parasites"

April 15, 2014 – Portoghese Lectureship: Dr. Victor J. Hruby
Regents Professor Emertius, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
The University of Arizona
"Design of Multivalent Peptides and Peptidomimetics for the Detection and Treatment of Disease"

April 22, 2014 – Distinguished Lectureship: Dr. Philip S. Low
Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry and Director, Purdue Center for Drug Discovery
Purdue University
Ligand Targeted Imaging & Therapeutic Agents for Cancer

April 29, 2014 – Cody Lensing
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Vasopressin Antagonists: a Potential Treatment for Depression and Affective Disorders"
Advisor: Carrie Haskell-Luevano   

May 6, 2014 – Abul-Hajj–Hanna Exceptional Graduate Student Awardee: Maggie Olson
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Small Molecule Inhibitors of APOBEC3-Catalyzed Endogenous Mutation"
Advisor: Dan Harki   

May 9, 2014 – Special Seminar: Dr. Sidath C. Kumarapperuma
Research Associate, Wagner Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Development of Multifunctional Antibody Mimetics from Chemically Self-assembled Antibody Nanorings"

May 13, 2014 –  Jake Petersburg
Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Targeting Neurotrophin Receptors as a Strategy for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease"
Advisor: Carston R. Wagner

FALL SEMESTER 2013 

September 17, 2013 – Distinguished Lectureship: Dr. Iwao Ojima
Distinguished Professor, Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery
Stony Brook University
"New Generation Taxoids and Their Tumor-Targeting Drug Conjugates  – Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Cancer Cell Biology and Preclinical Development"

September 24, 2013 – Dr. Paramijit Arora
Professor, Department of Chemistry
New York University
"Plucking the High-Hanging Fruit: a Systematic Approach for Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions"

October 1, 2013 – Dr. Orlando Schärer
Professor, Pharmacological Sciences and Chemistry
Stony Brook University
"Regulation of Nuclease Activity in Human Repair Pathways: from Molecular Mechanisms to Cancer Therapy and Inherited Human Disorders"

October 8, 2013 – Dr. Elfi Kraka
Professor & Chair, Department of Chemistry
Southern Methodist University
"Learning from Nature  – Excursions in Computer-Assisted Drug Design"

October 15, 2013 – Dr. Will Pomerantz
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Minnesota
"Teflon Proteins for Protein-Protein Interaction Ligand Discovery"

October 22, 2013 – Gisvold Lecture: Dr. Peter Dervan
Bren Professor, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
California Institute of Technology
"Molecular Recognition of DNA by Small Molecules: from Discovery to Applications"

October 29, 2013 – Dr. Bill J. Gurley
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
"Can I take this with my Prozac? An Introduction to Herb-Drug Interactions"

November 5, 2013 – Dr. Patrick Woster
Professor, SCCP Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
"Strategies for the Discovery of Small-Molecule Epigenetic Modulators"

November 6, 2013 – Dr. James Bradner
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
"Chemical Modulation of Chromatin Structure"

November 19, 2013 – Dr. James Fuchs
Assistant Professor, Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy
The Ohio State University
"Disruption of the IL-6/JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway with Natural Product Analogues"
 
December 3, 2013 – Matthew Bockman
2nd Year Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota
"Combating Resistant Malaria with Organometallic Complexes"
Advisor: Daniel Harki

SUMMER 2013

June 11, 2013 - Elbek Kurbanov
Computational and Synthetic Approaches for Anthrax Toxin Lethal Factor Inhibitor Design
Graduate Student, Amin Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
 
June 18, 2013 - Dr. Frances Lawrenz
Mandatory Responsible Conduct of Research Meeting: Fraud & Reporting Misconduct
Associate Vice President for Research
Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota

June 25, 2013 - Bo Zhou
Glowing into Mechanism – Fluorescent Chalcones as Potential Probes to Explore the Mechanisms of Chalcone's Bioactivities
Graduate Student, Xing Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota   
 
July 2, 2013 - Rachit Shah
Defining the Substrate Specificity and the Natural Function of Human Histidine Triad Nucleotide Binding Proteins 1 and 2
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
 
July 9, 2013 - Dr. James Inglese
Case Studies in Gateway Translational Research and the Curious Curse of the Firefly
Adjunct Investigator, Cancer Genetics Branch
National Human Genome Research Institute

July 16, 2013 - Margaret Olson
Small Molecule Inhibitors and Probes of APOBEC3G-Catalyzed DNA Cytosime Deamination
Graduate Student, Harki Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota  

July 30, 2013 - Jill Kyzer
Development of Selective Nuclear Receptor Modulators Targeting Retinoic Acid Receptor-alpha for Male Contraception
Graduate Student, Georg Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
 
August 20, 2013 - Jingjing Shen
Studies of the Ability of CSANS to Enable T-Cell Killing of CD22 Positive Cancer Cells
Graduate Student, Wagner Lab
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota

SPRING SEMESTER 2013

February  5, 2013 – Dr. Valerie C. Pierre
Imaging Metal-Induced Oxidative Stress: Lanthanides to the Rescue
Department of Chemistry
University of Minnesota

February 12, 2013 – Dr. Philip S. Portoghese
THE PHILIP S. PORTOGHESE LECTURE IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
Opioid Receptor Heterodimers: Favorable Marriages or Hazardous Liaisons?
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota
 
February 19, 2013 – Aniekan Okon
Selective Inhibition of HIF-1 Dimerization: A Promising Anti-Cancer Strategy
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

February 26, 2013 – John Widen
Marine Polycyclic Ethers: Synthetic Targets and Potential Therapeutics
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

MARCH 12, 2013 – Dr. David S. Lawrence
Organic Chemistry at the Edge of Biology: Taming Cell Behavior with Light Responsive Molecules
Department of Chemistry
University of North Carolina

MARCH 26, 2013 – Adam Zarth
Targeting the X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis (XIAP) for Caspase-Mediated Cancer Cell Death
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

APRIL 2, 2013 – Dr. Sarah E. Reisman
New Methods and Strategies for the Synthesis of Epidithiodiketopiperazine Natural Products
Department of Chemistry
California Institute of Technology

April 16, 2013 – Dr. Amit Kalgutkar
Metabolism-Guided Drug Design
Pfizer

April 23, 2013 – Dr. Nouri Neamati
Navigating Chemical Space for Discovery of Novel Anticancer Drugs
Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

April 30, 2013 – Dr. Richard DiMarchi
Novel Drug Treatment for Metabolic Disease: From Gut Hormones to Polypharmacy
Department of Chemistry
Indiana University

MAY 5, 2013 – Dr. Mei Hong
Structure and Mechanism of the Influenza M2 Proton Channel Studied by Solid-State NMR
Department of Chemistry
Iowa State University

FALL SEMESTER 2012

September 11, 2012 - Skye R. Doering
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Current Methods and Developments in the Synthesis of Enantiopure Compounds via Biotransformations
 
September 18, 2012 - Dr. Douglas S. Johnson
Pfizer
Chemical Biology with Clickable Probes: Application to the Discovery of FAAH Inhibitors and γ-Secretase Modulators

September 25, 2012 - Dr. Alexei Demchenko
Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Missouri – St. Louis
From Chemical Glycosylation to Expeditious Oligosaccharide Synthesis

October 2, 2012 - Dr. Edward B. Skibo
Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Arizona State University
Design of Target-Based Antitumor Agents

October 9, 2012 - Arnold S. Groehler IV
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Small Molecule Inhibitors of the p53-MDM2 Complex as a Potential Cancer Therapy

October 16, 2012 - Dr. Stephen V. Frye
Director – Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Chemical Biology of Methyl 1 Lysine Readers

October 23, 2012 - Dr. Robert P. Hanzlik
Professor – Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas
Taito O. Soine Lecture: Reactive Metabolites, Cellular Targets, and Beyond

October 30, 2012 - David S. Huang
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
The Discovery and Development of Bromodomain Inhibitors

November 6, 2012 - Dr. David A. Colby
Assistant Professor – Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Difluoromethyl Ketones Synthesized by a Trifluoroacetate-Release Aldol Reaction

November 13, 2012 - Dr. Edmond J. LaVoie
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of New York, Buffalo
Macrocyclic G-Quadruplex Stabilizers as Antitumor Agents

mappNovember 20, 2012 - Dr. Anna K. Mapp
Professor – Chemistry, University of Michigan
Regulating Transcription with Large and Small Molecules

November 27, 2012 - Kimberly M. Maize
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
The Chemistry and Biology of the Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist Suvorexant
 
December 11, 2012 - Kari Gabrielse
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Chemically Self-Assembled Antibody Nanorings (CSANs): A multifaceted approach to anti-cancer therapeutics using techniques including drug delivery, bispecific targeting, and T-cell surface modification

SUMMER 2012

JUNE 19, 2012 - Ran Dai
Fragment based inhibitor design of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis BioA
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

JUNE 26, 2012  - Dr. Qisheng Zhang
Chemical tools to monitor and regulate the phosphatidylinositide signaling network
Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry
University of North Carolina

JULY 3, 2012 - Nick Struntz
Developing chemical probes of cellular processes: Part I. GMP synthetase inhibitors; Part II. Photoswitchable nucleobases
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

JULY 10, 2012 - Dan Wang
Synthetic parthenolide analogues: Probes of biological function and anticancer agents
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota
Room Change: 1-450 Moos Tower

JULY 17, 2012 - Dewakar Sanjaru
Quantitative analysis of 1,3-butadieneinduced DNA adducts in vivo by isotope dilution mass spectrometry
Graduate Student - Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

JULY 24, 2012 - Will Fiers
Unravelling the roots of latent stereochemistry in polyketide synthases
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

AUGUST 14, 2012 - JingJing Shen
Theranostic nanoparticles modified with tumor targeting ligands for delivery of siRNA for cancer therapy
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

AUGUST 21, 2012 - Li-Kai Liu
Lead Discovery: Small molecule inhibitors of the CD44-carbohydrate interactions
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

AUGUST 28, 2012 - Yang Li
Polyketide intermediate mimics- Probing the origins of substrate and stereospecificity and RITA, a small molecule for MLL leukemia
Graduate Student – Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

SPRING SEMESTER 2012

JANUARY 24, 2012 - Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke
Flexibility. A New Paradigm for Nucleoside Drug Design
Professor, Medicinal & Bioorganic Chemistry
University of Maryland, Baltimore Co.

FEBRUARY 7, 2012 - Margaret E. Olson
Synthetic Carbohydrate-Based Vaccines: Exploiting the Tumor Associated Antigen sTn for Cancer Therapeutic Development
Graduate Student - Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota

FEBRUARY 14, 2012 - Dr. Silvia Balbo
Development of a High-resolution Mass Spectrometry Method for the Observation and Characterization of Unknown Adducts in Human DNA
Research Associate
Masonic Cancer Ctr.-University of Minnesota

FEBRUARY 21, 2012 - Dr. Alexander Doemling
Instant Discovery of Protein-Protein Interaction Antagonists Using Anchor Query
Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Pittsburgh

MARCH 6, 2012 - Dr. Caren L. Meyers
Intracellular Delivery of Polyphosphonates: The Chemistry and Biology of Bisphosphonamidate Prodrugs
Department of Pharmacology & Molecular Sciences
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

MARCH 20, 2012 - Dr. Steven Rokita
Reversible Alkylation of DNA by Quinone Methide Intermediates
Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of Maryland

APRIL 17, 2012 - Bo Zhou
Tethering – A Novel Tool for Fragment-Based Drug Discovery
Graduate Student- Medicinal Chemistry
University

Chemical Biology Initiative Seminar Archive

2018-2019

SEPTEMBER 25
Chemical Biology Training Grant Student Flash Talks

OCTOBER 9
Kevin G. Rice, Professor, Dept. Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Iowa 

Bioconjugate Packaging of Oligonucleotides For Systemic Gene Delivery”

NOVEMBER 6
Wenshe Liu, Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Texas A&M University

“Use an expanded genetic code to study epigenetic erasers”

NOVEMBER 20
Bryan Dickinson, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, University of Chicago

"Chemical Approaches to Probe Signaling by Dynamic Proteome Lipidation"

DECEMBER 4
Amanda Hargrove, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Duke University
“Deciphering Patterns in Selective Small Molecule:RNA Interactions”

JANUARY 29
John Santini, President and CEO, ApoGen BioTechnologies

"Translating Big Ideas into Novel Therapies… from Science to Entrepreneurial Startups"

FEBRUARY 12
Dustin Maly, Professor and Raymon E. and Rosellen M. Lawton Distinguished Scholar, Dept. Chemistry, University of Washington

"Allosteric Modulation of Protein Kinases with Small Molecule Inhibitors"

FEBRUARY 26

Yimon Aye - CANCELLED

MARCH 26

Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant Student Talks - Jenna Fernandez & Kellan Passow

Jenna Fernandez, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Identification of Specific Readers of Epigenetic Modifications in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells Using a Quantitative Proteomics Approach”

Kellan Passow, Graduate Student, Harki Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Photochemically Responsive Nucleosides as Biological Tools”

APRIL 9

Steve Ekker, Professor and Consultant, Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic

"How to Join the Genome Writers Guild"

2016-2017

SEPTEMBER 19
Remodeling the Cyanine Scaffold for New Applications in Drug Delivery and Imaging Martin Schnermann, Investigator, Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute

OCTOBER 10
Chemical Biology Training Grant Student Talks - Carter Eiden & Sara Coulup

Kinetic Characterization and Rational Optimization of Mechanism-Based Inhibitors of BioA
Carter Eiden, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab

Toward the Design and Synthesis of Stabilized Pironetin Analogs
Sara Coulup, Graduate Student, Georg Lab

OCTOBER 24
Bioorganic Nucleic Acids Chemistry in Primitive and Modern Biology
Aaron Englehart, Assistant Professor, Dept. Genetics and Cell Development, University of Minnesota

NOVEMBER 7
Interrogating the Interface of Synthetic Chemistry and Cell Biology
Keith Wood, Head of Research, Advanced Technologies, Promega Corporation, Senior Research Fellow

NOVEMBER 21
Exploring and Exploiting Kinases for Nucleoside Analog Activation
Stephan Lutz, Professor, Dept. Chemistry,  Emory University

DECEMBER 12
Multidimensional Chemical Control of CRISPR-Cas9
Amit Choudhary, Assistant Professor, Dept. Medicine, Broad Institute, Harvard University

FEBRUARY 13  -  CBITG Event
Dr. Mark Distefano, Distinguished McKnight Professor & Merck Professor, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
Choosing a Postdoctoral Position: A Panel Discussion with Postdocs and Research Advisors

FEBRUARY 27  -  CBITG Student Talks - Clifford Gee & Tory Schaaf

Protein Tetris: Ligand Discovery, Characterizaiton, and Development for BrdT via Protein Observed Fluorine NMR
Clifford Gee, PhD Candidate, Pomerantz Lab

Novel Fluorescence Tools for the Discovery of Cardiac Calcium Pump Therapeutics
Tory Schaaf, PhD Candidate, Thomas Lab

MARCH 13
Kinase-catalyzed Labeling: Chemical Approaches to Mapping Cell Signaling Pathways
Dr. Mary Kay Pflum, Associate Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Wayne State University

MARCH 27
Chemical biology of O-GlcNAc: Enzyme Mechanisms to Chemical Probes
Dr. David Vocadlo, Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Simon Fraser University

APRIL 10
Harnessing DNA Synthesis and Assembly Technology for Natural Product Discovery and Engineering
Dr. Michael Smanski, Assistant Professor, Dept. Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota

APRIL 24
Designing Molecules to Mine for Copper along the Host-Pathogen Interface
Dr. Katherine J. Franz, Professor & Associate Chair, Duke Chemistry, Duke University


2015-2016

Addressing Unanswered Questions In Bacterial Hydrocarbon Biosynthesis
Matt Jensen, Chemical Biology Training Grant Trainee, Chemical Biology Coloquium

Getting a Grip on Electronic Notebooks
Courtney Aldrich, Associate Professor, Dep. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota,

Guiding biomolecular and cellular engineering with mathematical modeling
Casim Sarkar, Associate Professor, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota

Industrial Biotech in the Twin Cities – challenges and rewards
Todd Geders, Ph.D., Scientist, Bio-Techne, Inc. Minneapolis, MN

Targeting Structurally and Functionally Diverse RNAs with Druglike Small Molecules
Dr. Jay Schneekloth, Head, Chemical Genetics Section
National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD

Activation of Innate Immune Cells with a Fungal Derived Pathogen Associated Molecular Pattern Molecule, Improve PGG
 Keith B. Gorden PhD and Michael E. Danielson PhD, Biothera, Inc.

The Challenges and Rewards of Biomedical Start-ups
Troy Kopischke, co-CEO, Invenshure, LLC, Minneapolis, MN

PROTACS:  Induced Protein Degradation as a Therapeutic Strategy
Craig Crews, Lewis B. Cullman Professor , Dept. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacology, Yale University

DNA Damage and Mutagenesis
Thomas Spratt, Associate Professor, Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, Hershey 

A New Target for Pain: Developing Tools to Probe the Function and Behavior of HINT Enzymes
Rachit Shah, PhD Graduate Student - Wagner Group, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry

Virus-like Particles: Directed Immune Response and Diagnostic Imaging
Trevor Douglas, Earl Blough Professor of Chemistry, Dept. Chemistry, Indiana University

Progress Towards Novel Chemical Entities for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases and Cancer
Jason Sello, Associate Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Brown University

2014-2015

Prospects for Riboswitch & Ribozyme Discovery
Ronald Breaker, Chair & Henry Ford II Professor, Dept of Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University

A Primordial Transducer: Discovery & Characterization of the D1 Switch in B. stearothermophilus
 Charles Carter, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of North Carolina

Signal Transduction on Membrane Surfaces: The Roles of Space, Force & Time
Jay T. Groves, Professor, Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley

Chemical Probes of Transcription
 Student Invited Speaker: Angela Koehler, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Engineering, MIT

Structure & Misfolding of the Glaucoma-associated Olfactomedin Domain of Myocilin
Raquel Lieberman, Associate Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Tech

Expanding the Functional Utility of Proteins as Research Tools & Therapeutic Leads
Brian McNaughton, Assistant Professor, Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University 

2013-2014

Targeting Oncogenic Kinase Signaling with Covalent Inhibitors
Nathanael S. Gray, Principal Investigator, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School

The Role of NEET Proteins in Maintaining Mitochondrial Integrity & Iron Homeostasis in Breast Cancer
Patricia Jennings, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC San Diego

Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: Overcoming Translational Issues & New Models
Frank M. LaFerla, Director, Institute for Memory Impairments & Neurological Disorders, UC Irvine

Unconventional Strategies to Suppress the Rise of Antibiotic Resistance
Douglas Mitchell, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Thioamides: Minimalist Chromophores for Monitoring Protein Folding & Stability

E. James Petersson, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania

Natural Product Synthesis – an Enabling Tool in the Discovery of New Approaches to Small Molecule-Mediated Neuronal Regeneration
Dionicio R. Siegel, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Texas, Austin

2012-2013

Chemical Probes to Explore & Inhibit Bacterial Growth & Pathogenesis
Erin E. Carlson, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University

Painting the Cysteine Chapel: New Tools to Probe Oxidation Biology
Kate Carroll, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, Florida Campus

Functionalized Polymeric Nanoparticles for Medical Applications: From Discovery to Clinical Trials
Omid Farokhzad, Associate Professor, Laboratory of Nanomedicine & Biomaterials, Brigham & Women's Hospital

Studying RNA Editing & Modification Using Mass Spectrometry
Patrick A. Limbach, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati

Epigenetics Seminar Archive

APRIL 2019
An Orthogonal Chromatin Landscape with Engineered Protein and Small Molecules
Kabirul Islam, University of Pittsburgh

MARCH 2019
Transcriptional Regulation by the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1.1 in Development and Disease
Micah Gearhart, University of Minnesota

FEBRUARY 2019
DNA Methylation in Atopy and Atopic Asthma
Wei Chen, University of Pittsburgh

JANUARY 2019
Understanding and Targeting the Epigenome in Liver Cancer
Keith Robertson, Mayo Clinic

NOVEMBER 2018
Enhancement of Breast Tumor Cell Immunogenicity as a Strategy for Chemosensitization
Joseph Landry, Virginia Commonwealth University

OCTOBER 2018
Dynamic N6-methyladenosine Methylome Regulates Intrinsic and Acquired Drug Resistance
Shujun Liu, Hormel Institute

SEPTEMBER 2018
3D-Enriched Fragment Screening and Selective N-Terminal BET Bromodomain Inhibition in the Pomerantz Lab
Jorden Johnson & Anand Divakaran, Graduate Students

APRIL 2017
Tet1-mediated DNA Hydroxymethylation and Airway Hyperresponsiveness
Winnie Tang, Johns Hopkins University

MARCH 2017
Epigenetics at the Proliferation/Differentiation Switch in Retinal Progenitor Cells
Timothy Hallstrom, University of Minnesota

FEBRUARY 2017
How We Learned to Stop Chelating and Love Histone Demethylases
James Kiefer, Genentech Inc.

JANUARY 2017
Targeting the Epigenome in Multiple Myeloma
Brian Van Ness, University of Minnesota

NOVEMBER 2016
A Trans-omic Approach to Uncover Pre-Malignant Pathways in COPD-associated Lung Cancer
Christine Wendt, M.D., University of Minnesota

OCTOBER 2016
Illuminating the Methylome
Alasdair Reid, Illumina, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 2016
Cytosine Modifying Enzymes and the Dynamic Genome
Rahul Kohli, University of Pennsylvania

MAY 2016
Metals Epigenetics and Cancer
Max Costa, NYU School of Medicine

APRIL 2016
Peter Jones Presentation, Van Andel Research Institute

FEBRUARY 2016
Chemical Biology Approaches for Inhibiting Protein Recognition of Acetylated Histones
Dr. Laura Hawk, Postdoctoral Associate, UMN Department of Chemistry

NOVEMBER 2015
AML1/ETO-HIF1a-DNMT3a Axis Defines Unique Epigenetic Patterns in AML Cells
Dr. Shujun Liu, Associate Professor, Cancer Epigenetics & Experimental Therapeutics, The Hormel Institute

OCTOBER 22, 2015
Genomic Methods for Measuring DNA Methylation
Dr. Kenneth Beckman, Director, University of Minnesota Genomics Center

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
RIP140 in epigenetic control of ESC "Stemness" and Neural Progenitor Cell homeostasis
Li-Na Wei, Department of Pharmacology, Distinguished McKnight Professor, U of MN 

JULY 31, 2015
Epigenetic Inheritance & Impacts on Histone Mutations on Cancer Epigenomes
Zhiguo Zhang, Department of Biochemistry/Cancer Epigenetics Lab, Mayo Clinic