Joe McPherson Shines at the 2026 CTSI Symposium & Poster Session

The Department of Medicinal Chemistry would like to congratulate PhD Candidate Joe McPherson for his recent talk at the 2026 Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Symposium & Poster Session! Joe is co-advised by Prof. Natalia Tretyakova and Prof. William C. Pomerantz.

Of the numerous CTSI T32 trainees, Joe was selected to give a TED-Style talk at the symposium due to his strong performance and overall success in the program. His talk was entitled “Merging Chemistry and Translational Science: Developing Chemical Tools to Solve Biological Problems.”

When asked about his experience, Joe said:

“Crafting short research presentations is challenging. Making a presentation about medicinal chemistry for an audience of non-chemists is even more challenging, but seeing other scientists and community members outside of the scientific space excited about our research was a very rewarding experience!”

The CTSI T32 training program describes itself as:

The CTSI T32 Program’s training mission is to contribute to the nation’s biomedical workforce by training PhD students and postdoctoral trainees from a variety of disciplines in clinical and translational sciences.

This two-year training opportunity, funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), integrates a mentored full-time research experience with an individualized curriculum. The program offers unique professional career development activities focused on translational science, team science, and effective communication with the larger community.

Scholars completing the program not only produce original research, but come away with the skills to be leaders in their labs, their careers and their fields. Equal emphasis is placed on research and professional and career development.

We’re very proud of Joe for both his talk at the symposium, as well as his overall dedication to his science and his participation as a trainee. Great things are in store for you, Joe!