Adwait Ranade - MEDI Travel Grant

Adwait Ranade, graduate student in the Georg lab, was awarded a Division of Medicinal Chemistry MEDI Travel Grant to attend the 247th American Chemical Association National Meeting in Dallas, Texas this coming March.

Dr. Natalia Tretyakova - Grant-in-Aid

Medicinal Chemistry professor Natalia Tretyakova received a Fall 2013 Grant-in-Aid. The $32,000 award will fund her project "DNA-Protein Crosslinks in the Etiology of Heart Disease."

Elbek Kurbanov & John Widen - 2013-14 Bighley Fellowships

Medicinal Chemistry graduate students Elbek Kurbanov in Dr. Elizabeth Amin's lab and John Widen from Dr. Dan Harki's lab have been awarded College of Pharmacy Bighley Fellowships for 2013-14.

Drs. Gunda Georg & Vadim Gurvich - HealthTalk

Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development (ITDD) Directors Gunda Georg and Vadim Gurvich were featured in the HealthTalk story, "New $8.3M NIH contract to advance hormone-free birth control research at University of Minnesota."

ITDD - NIH Contract

Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development (ITDD) faculty will receive $8.3 million from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to investigate pharmaceutical alternatives to existing birth control methods. The primary goal of the five-year research contract is to both develop new non-hormonal male and female birth control drug targets and expand on existing targets.

Dr. Dan Harki - Engebretson/Bighley Grant

A $23,000 Engebretson/Bighley Drug Design & Development Grant was awarded to faculty member Dan Harki for his project "Discovery of APOBEC3B Small Molecule Inhibitors."

Dr. David Ferguson - HealthTalk Story

Professor David Ferguson is featured in the October 16 Academic Health Center HealthTalk story "Expert Perspective: Workout enhancer contains meth-like stimulant."

Dr. David Ferguson - MN Daily article

Professor David Ferguson was quoted in the September 19 Minnesota Daily article "Molly drug use more common than U think."

Maggie Olson - 2013-14 ACS Predoctoral Fellowship

Graduate student Maggie Olson has been selected to receive a Division of Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship for 2013-14 from the American Chemical Society. Maggie is a member of Dan Harki's lab.

Dr. Gunda Georg - Grant for Non-hormonal Contraceptive Research

Medicinal Chemistry Department Head and Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development Director Gunda Georg will receive $8.3 million over five years from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development to design, synthesize, and evaluate non-hormonal contraceptives for men and women.

Turesky lab - Paper of the Month

A recent publication co-authored by the Turesky lab on genome-wide sequencing of mutations and DNA adducts linking aristolochic acid to cancer is featured as an NIEHS Paper of the Month. "Mutational signature of aristolochic acid exposure as revealed by whole-exome sequencing" was published August 7 in Science Translational Medicine.

Dr. Robert Turesky - HealthTalk story

Professor Robert Turesky was featured in the September 10 Academic Health Center HealthTalk story, "Research Q&A: Identifying cancer's source."

Dr. Robert Turesky - Environmental Causes of Cancer

Professor Robert Turesky and post doc Byeong Hwa Yun presented an advance in determining the role of environmental agents in causing cancer at the 246th ACS meeting. Their research is also featured in the September 9 Medical XPress article "Advance in using biopsy samples in understanding environmental causes of cancer." Dr. Turesky is a new member of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, working in the Cancer Center at the new Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building.

Dr. Gunda Georg - 2013 AHC Academy for Excellence Inductee

The University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center (AHC) has named Gunda Georg, Ph.D., a 2013 inductee into its Academy for Excellence in Health Research. Each year, the Academies for Excellence recognize outstanding faculty in the areas of scientific research or educational scholarship. Dr. Georg, professor and department head of Medicinal Chemistry and director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, has been inducted into the Academy for Excellence in Health Research. She joins previous lifetime inductees who have enhanced the research identity of the University of Minnesota through sustained nationally- and internationally-recognized biomedical or health-related research in their field.

Med Chem faculty named 2013 ACS Fellows

The American Chemical Society has named professor Gunda Georg, Medicinal Chemistry Department Head/ITDD Director, and Medicinal Chemistry graduate faculty member Lisa Peterson, Environmental Health Sciences, to their class of 2013 ACS Fellows. ACS Fellows are nominated by their peers and selected for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the sciences/profession and for providing excellent volunteer service to the ACS community. Professors Georg and Peterson will be honored at the ACS National Meeting in September.

Dr. Gunda Georg - MN Daily profile

On May 7, the Minnesota Daily ran a profile on Professor Gunda Georg. "U pharmacy prof 'unrivaled' in her field" describes Dr. Georg's research and role as co-creator of a viable male contraceptive pill.

Dr. David Ferguson - News Tribune resource

Professor David Ferguson was consulted for the Tacoma News Tribune story on performance enhancing drugs, "PED use has led to suspensions of six Seahawks under Carroll."

David Huang - AFPE Fellowship

David Huang, grad student in the Georg lab, has been awarded an American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Fellowship for 2013. The AFPE fellowship is intended to encourage outstanding pre-doctoral students, who have completed at least three semesters of graduate study and have not more than three and a half years remaining, to continue their studies and earn the Ph.D.

Summer Fellowships Awarded to Harki lab members

Two members of Dr. Dan Harki's research group were awarded fellowships for Summer 2013. Undergraduate Jacob Edwards received a Department of Chemistry Heisig/Gleysteen Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Pharm.D. II student Bo Hu received a College of Pharmacy Melendy/Peter's Summer Research Scholarship.

Dr. Gunda Georg - Kare11 news

ITDD Director Gunda Georg's work with Dr. Jim Maher at the Mayo Clinic is the subject of a Kare11 story published February 25, "Research Partnership Uncovers Cancer Clues."

Dr. Gunda Georg - Star Tribune feature story

The Star Tribune featured the story "Long-promised Pill for men gets new approach" on the front page of its Sunday, March 3 Variety section. The story includes information and quotes from Dr. Georg, Department Head of Medicinal Chemistry, about her current research targeting sperm motility.

Dr. Gunda Georg awarded Volwiller Research Achievement Award

Professor Gunda Georg, Department Head of Medicinal Chemistry and Director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development, was selected to receive the annual Volwiller Research Achievement Award. The award is sponsored by the Abbott Fund and was established as the research prize in academic pharmacy. The award consists of a gold medal and a $12,500 cash prize. Dr. Georg will also be honored during the annual AACP meeting in Chicago in July.

Dr. Peter Dosa - MN Partnership Grant

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology & Medical Genomics has awarded $775,577 to Peter Dosa, Associate Program Director in the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development, for his project "Novel Therapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Glaucoma." Michael Fautsch of the Mayo Clinic will collaborate on the project.

Dr. Peter Dosa - MN Partnership Grant

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology & Medical Genomics has awarded $775,577 to Peter Dosa, Associate Program Director in the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development, for his project "Novel Therapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Glaucoma." Michael Fautsch of the Mayo Clinic will collaborate on the project.

Dr. Gunda Georg - Male Contraceptive news coverage

Dr. Gunda Georg, Medicinal Chemistry Department Head and Director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development, is quoted in a featured story on the College of Pharmacy home page. The February 12 posting discusses the history and development of a male contraceptive pill. Dr. Georg's research was also covered by the Minnesota Daily and HealthTalk.

Teacher of the Semster, Fall 2012

The PharmD students have chosen their 2012 Professors of the Semester for Fall 2012. This semester, Professor David Ferguson was honored by the Twin Cities class of 2016.

Dr. David Ferguson - HealthTalk story

Professor David Ferguson gave his expert perspective in the January 2 Academic Health Center HealthTalk story "Adderall use in the NFL is 'cheating'."