College of Pharmacy Graduate Student Named 2020 Male Contraceptive Initiative Fellow

August 10, 2020

Abdullah Al Noman Headshot

Minneapolis, Minn.

Aug. 10, 2020

Md Abdullah Al Noman, PhD candidate in the Georg group in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, has been named a 2020 Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI) Fellow by the Male Contraceptive Initiative.

“Noman is an exceptionally talented graduate student with a bright future ahead of him. He is incredibly worthy of this recognition and support. Given how few medicinal chemists work on male contraception, I trust this topic of focus will be featured in Noman’s own research groups someday,” said Gunda Georg, director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development.

The support from MCI, which totals $100,000 over the next two years, will allow Noman and the other fellows to focus on research, publish data and build their foundations as principal investigators. 

Noman’s research goal is to develop RARɑ antagonists as male contraceptive agents. RARɑ is a receptor for vitamin A metabolite – retinoic acid – and is essential for the production of sperm. Noman aims to block RARɑ signaling using drug-like small molecules to inhibit the sperm production. 

“I am excited to be awarded the predoctoral fellowship from the Male Contraceptive Initiative. Now, I am more driven than ever to develop a male contraceptive agent. Receiving a competitive fellowship strengthened my resolve to pursue a career in independent research, and I thank MCI for this opportunity,” said Noman.

Noman joins graduate students from East Carolina University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in receiving this support. Each student is working within different realms of male contraceptive research, all with the aim of building toward the eventual market approval of a novel non-hormonal male contraceptive method.

Media Contacts

Dawn Tucker
College of Pharmacy
Eileen Omizo-Whittenberg
College of Pharmacy
https://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/news/college-pharmacy-graduate-student-named-2020-male-contraceptive-initiative-fellow