Congratulations to Medicinal Chemistry Faculty Receiving Grant Funding

The following Medicinal Chemistry faculty recently received grant funding:

AHC (Academic Health Center) Faculty Research Development Grant Funding:

• Dr. Barry Finzel received $167,000 for his project, "Bivalent conjugates for Inhibition of CD44."
• Dr. Philip Portoghese received $193,078 for his project, "Developing new therapies for neuropathic pain during multiple sclerosis."
• Dr. Natalia Tretyakova received $200,000 for her project, "UHRF2 control of 5hmC homeostasis and differentiation in retinal progenitor cells."

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Grant Funding:

• Dr. Natalia Tretyakova is part of a group that received NCI funding for the project, "Mechanisms of Ethnic/Racial Differences in Lung Cancer Due to Cigarette Smoking." The principal investigator is Dr. Steven Hecht and the project involves the U of M, the U of Hawaii and ESC.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding:

• Jon Hawkinson, Director of the ITDD Highthrougput Screening Laboratory, received an NIH shared instrumentation award in the amount of $343,887. The plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument will allow researchers at the University of Minnesota to directly determine the affinity of antibodies and small molecule probes and drugs for receptors, and to measure protein-protein interactions.  The exquisite sensitivity of this SPR instrument will allow the detection of very small mass changes in small molecule drug discovery applications, such as fragment-based screening.   This instrument will directly impact research in diverse therapeutic areas, including contraception, anti-infectives, metabolic disease, neuroscience, and cancer, as well as basic biology research.

Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture Awarded to Dr. Lawrence J. Marnett

Congratulations to Dr. Lawrence J. Marnett (Vanderbilt University) who recently presented the Medicinal Chemistry Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture. The Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture in Medicinal Chemistry has been established to recognize scientists who have made outstanding contributions to medicinal chemistry.

More information on the Philip S. Portoghese Distinguished Lecture can be found on the Medicinal Chemistry Department website.

Dr. Vadim Gurvich Quoted in News Article

Vadim Gurvich is quoted in the Business Wire story, "LIU Pharmacy Joins the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE)." 

Philip Portoghese Award Presented at ACS National Meeting

The Philip Portoghese Award was presented to Amy Newman (National Institute of Health) at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in August 2016.

Read more about the Philip Portoghese Award here: https://www.acsmedchem.org/?nd=portogheseaward

Congratulations to Arnie Groehler

Arnie Groehler, a fifth year Medicinal Chemistry student in the Tretyakova Laboratory, received the
"Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation" award from the ACS division of Chemical Toxicology. This was the only award of its kind granted at the 252nd American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition in Philadelphia in August 2016.

Welcome to Annie Howarth & Sarah Comfort

Welcome to our two new staff members, Sarah Comfort and Annie Howarth! Both Sarah and Annie join the Medicinal Chemistry Department as Executive Office and Administrative Specialists. 

Dr. Vadim Gurvich Awarded Funding for Grants

Vadim Gurvich received a $137,588 SBIR grant for the project, "Development of a non-addictive analgesic targeting opioid receptor heteromers." 

Dr. Gurvich also received a $43,677 contract from NIDA for the project, "(-)-Phenserine Tartrate Purification, Encapsulation, & Testing Support Services."