Congrats Kimberly Maize

Kimberly Maize, a Medicinal Chemistry graduate student, is one of 10 recipients nationally of the Eli Lilly/WCC Travel Award.

Med Chem grads plan, participate in CBITG Symposium

More than 100 graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members from more than ten departments attended the annual National Institutes of Health Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Symposium in May.

The symposium was planned and hosted by current CBITG trainees, including department of medicinal chemistry students Sara Coulup (Georg lab) and Carter Eiden (Aldrich lab).

A variety of speakers from fields that bridge chemistry and biology research presented a range of topics. Kim Maize, grad student in the Finzel lab, presented "Ligand-Induced Structural Changes in Anthrax Lethal Factor." In addition, the symposium featured a poster session, where the department was well-represented by graduate students Joe Buonomo and Carter Eiden (Aldrich lab), Denise Casemore (Xing lab),  Sara Coulup, David Huang, and Andi Wisniewski (Georg lab), Arnie Groehler (Tretyakova lab),  Elbek Kurbanov (Amin lab), Cody Lensing (Haskell-Luevano lab), Aniekan Okon (Wagner lab), and Maggie Olson and John Widen (Harki lab).

Mark Distefano, department of chemistry professor and medicinal chemistry graduate faculty member, is director of CBITG. The mission of the training grant is to provide students with interdisciplinary training so that they can tackle complex research problems involving a combination of chemical and biological methods.

New faculty: Dr. Sunil David

Dr. Sunil David will join the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in August. He is known for his work in adjuvant vaccine development, infectious disease, immunology, and inflammatory disease processes. Researchers from his group at the University of Kansas will join him in his new lab in the Cancer & Cardiovascular Research Building.

Dr. Chenggu Xing - NCI Grant

Professor Chengguo (Chris) Xing received $1,738,500 from the National Cancer Institute for his research project, "Dihydromethysticin (DHM) for Lung Cancer Chemoprevention."

Med Chem professors honored

Professor Chris Xing was named professor of the year and professor of fall semester 2014 by the PharmD Twin Cities class of 2016. The PharmD Duluth class of 2018 named professor David Ferguson their professor of fall semester 2014 (tied with Jon Schommer).

Adam Zarth - Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

Graduate student Adama Zarth, member of Stephen Hecht's lab, was awarded a 2015-16 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.

Dr. Philip Portoghese among top pharmacy professors

Distinguished Professor Phil Portoghese was named one of the top 25 pharmacy professors by Medical Technology Schools.

Dr. Barry Finzel - USenate Representative

Professor Barry Finzel has been nominated to serve a three-year term as a USenate representative for the College of Pharmacy.

Stephanie Breunig - UROP Award

Harki group undergraduate student Stephanie Breunig has been awarded $1,700 from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) for her project "The Synthesis of APOBEC3G Reversible Covalent Inhibitors."

Laura Burnes - SELP Award

Student worker Laura Burnes received a SELPie award on May 7th at the annual Student Employee Recognition Event. The Student Employee Leadership Program (SELP) recognizes student employees who go above and beyond expectations in their work at the university.

John Widen - MEDI Travel Grant

Graduate student John Widen, member of the Harki lab, received a $1,000 travel grant from the Division of Medicinal Chemistry (MEDI) to attend the 2015 National American Chemical Society  Meeting which will be held in Boston this August. John will present a poster of his research.

Dr. Stephen Hecht - Wisconsin Public Radio

Stephen Hecht was quoted in the story "Wisconsin Lawmakers Work to Catch Up With the E-cigarette Boom," on Wisconsin Public Radio and in the Superior Telegram. Dr. Hecht is a professor in the Masonic Cancer Center and graduate faculty member in the department of medicinal chemistry. 

Dr. Dan Harki - NIH R01 Grant

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded Dan Harki, assistant professor, a 5-year, 1.7-million-dollar NIH R01 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his project "Chemical Interrogation of Human DNA Cytosine Deaminases." 

Stephanie Breunig – 2nd Summer Research Fellowship

Stephanie Breunig, undergraduate chemistry major, will continue working in the Harki lab this summer with her second Department of Chemistry Heisig/Gleysteen summer research fellowship. The fellowship includes a $4,500 summer stipend and $500 for travel to a scientific conference to present research results.

Cliff Csizmar - Warwick Fellowship

Graduate student Cliff Csizmar, member of the Wagner lab, has been awarded the Dr. Warren J. Warwick and Henrietta Holm Warwick Fellowship for 2015-16. This non-service fellowship includes a stipend and research grant totaling $30,000.

Sara Coulup - AFPE Pre-Doctoral Award

The American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Board of Directors has selected Sara Coulup, graduate student in the Georg lab, to receive a $10,000 AFPE Pre-Doctoral Award in Pharmaceutical Science.

Aniekan Okon - Gordon Research Conference Best Poster Award

Graduate student Aniekan Okon won a best poster award at the "Translation Machinery and Health: Protein Synthesis and Beyond" Gordon Research Conference, held February 22-27 in Ventura, California. Aniekan is a member of the Wagner lab.

Elbek Kurbanov - 2015 Doctoral Research Showcase

Graduate student Elbek Kurbanov, member of Elizabeth Amin's lab, will present his research on Computational, Synthetic, Biochemical and X-ray Crystallographic Methods for Anthrax Toxin Lethal Factor (LF) Inhibitor Design at the Graduate School's 2015 Doctoral Research Showcase on Tuesday, April 7, 12 - 2 p.m. in the Great Hall, Coffman Memorial Union.

The event, highlighting the research of 85 recipients of prestigious University of Minnesota doctoral fellowships, is free and open to the public.

Dr. Gunda Georg named to Grand Challenges Research Strategies Group

Department of Medicinal Chemistry head Gunda Georg will serve on the new campus-wide Grand Challenges Research Strategies group. Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Karen Hanson solicited suggestions for membership from all Twin Cities campus deans, seeking a group of senior faculty who could take an expansive and informed view and yet be open to extensive consultation with all levels and elements of our campus. 

The group has been charged with gathering perspectives from across the campus on the cross-disciplinary areas of research and scholarship where the University has, or are poised to have, exceptional strength and a competitive advantage. In consultation with faculty, staff, and students, and with relevant external experts, they will then suggest which of these areas might best align with the Grand Challenge criteria outlined by the Strategic Planning Workgroup. 

Dr. Gunda Georg – U.S. News & World Report

The U.S. News & World Report feature, The Future of Male Birth Control, includes a profile of Gamendazole, the male birth control pill being developed by medicinal chemistry department head Gunda Georg with Joseph Tash from the University of Kansas.

Dr. Phil Portoghese – APhA Research Prize

The American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science honored department of medicinal chemistry distinguished professor Philip Portoghese with the 2015 Takeru Higuchi Research Prize. This award recognizes the highest accomplishments in pharmaceutical sciences, and is international in scope and stature. Dr. Portoghese will be recognized at the APhA Annual Meeting in San Diego in March.

Dr. Courtney Aldrich - HealthTalk feature

Courtney Aldrich, professor and editor of the new journal ACS Infectious Diseases, explains in the HealthTalk feature, "Promising Research for a New Antibiotic," the importance of a new antibiotic study recently published in Nature.

Dr. David Ferguson comments on New Drug in ND

Professor David Ferguson was quoted in a Grand Forks Herald story, "Grand Forks Police Investigating Drug New to North Dakota," about the illegal use of powdered fentanyl.

Dr. Gunda Georg - AAAS Member-at-Large

Department Head Gunda Georg has been elected a Member-at-Large of the Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her four-year term will begin this February.