Medicinal Chemistry 101
11:00-11:50
Earl Lewis Room
Medicinal Chemistry is the scientific discipline which discovers new drugs. This is a perfect panel for those interested in drug development or in pursuing a PhD.
Panelists
Dr. Roland Kersten:
-
Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry: University of Michigan College of Pharmacy
-
Research Interests: Dr. Kersten uses a combination of herbal medicinal knowledge and plant genome mining to discover new plant chemistry with therapeutic potential. The goal of his research is to overcome bottlenecks in natural product drug discovery and development.
Dr. Peter Toogood:
-
Director, Michigan Drug Discovery (an initiative to translate academic discoveries into new advances in medicine at the University of Michigan)
-
Research Interests: Dr. Toogood’s drug discovery experience encompasses the fields of immunology/inflammation, infectious diseases and cancer. He was a co-inventor of the cyclin-dependent kinase-4 inhibitor Ibrance® (palbociclib). He also established a research program in natural products total synthesis and chemical biology.
Dr. Alanna Condren:
-
Postdoctoral Fellow: David Sherman Lab, University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute
-
Research Interests: Dr. Condren’s dissertation work was focused on employing mass spectrometry and other analytical chemistry techniques to understand the chemical communication of infectious bacteria and the mechanisms they use to become antibiotic drug resistant.
Dr. Mustapha Beleh:
-
Director of Education, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan College of Pharmacy
-
Research Interests: Dr. Beleh’s research evaluates teaching tools and innovative teaching methods in Medicinal Chemistry courses, exploring the use of remedial education, evaluating curricular changes in the PharmD program and uncovering factors that predict student success.