Medicinal Chemistry
Meet the Medicinal Chemistry Team
Balunas, Marcy
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School and Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Beleh, Mustapha, PhD
Director of Education and Frank J. Ascione Collegiate Teaching Professor in Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Research Topics
Examining the use of Web-based teaching, including virtual labs, on student learning and satisfaction
Evaluating assessment and learning modules in pharmaceutical education
Study the role of remediation in pharmaceutical education
Diversity and inclusiveness in teaching
Asessment of remote versus in-person teaching and assessment in pharmaceutical education
Brooks III, Charles, PhD
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Chemistry; Cyrus Levinthal Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and Biophysics; Director, Program in Biophysics; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Cernak, Timothy
Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, and Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Chen, Y. Eugene
Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine; Professor of Internal Medicine; Professor of Surgery, Professor of Pharmacology; and Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Medical School; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Cichewicz, Robert
Chair and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, and John Searle Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research Topics
Natural products drug discovery and development (special interests in antifungal and antiparasitic biomolecules)
Fungi and their metabolites: structure determination, metabolomics, and biological activities
Nature-inspired peptidic biomolecules: synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and therapeutic applications
Cierpicki, Tomasz, PhD
Professor of Pathology, Medical School; Professor Biophysics, LSA; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Clasby, Martin, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist of Medicinal Chemistry and Co-Director of the Vahlteich Medicinal Chemistry Core
Clifford, Laura
Lecturer III
Garner, Amanda, PhD
Charles Walgreen Jr Professor, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Director, Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Grembecka, Jolanta, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology, Medical School; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Hastings, Michelle
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Pfizer Upjohn Research Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Pharmacology, Medical School
Kersten, Roland
Assistant Professor
Research Topics
Development of gene-guided approaches for plant natural product drug discovery
Elucidation of plant natural product biosynthesis
Development of synthetic biology approaches for diversification and pharmaceutical evaluation of plant natural products
Mass spectrometry-based identification of specialized metabolites
Evolution of plant specialized metabolism
Knutson, Steven, PhD
ASST PROFESSOR
Research Topics
Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) Biology
A small fraction of the human genome actually encodes proteins (< 2%), yet the majority of it is transcribed into RNA. This landscape of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) can function as scaffolds, decoys, guides, and catalysts that can orchestrate cellular behavior. Our lab is fascinated by this frontier. Understanding ncRNA biology holds huge promise for unlocking the complexities of human biology while also inspiring us to engineer new RNA biomedicines.Proximity Labeling Platforms
Understanding RNA function requires capturing its highly dynamic interactions within the native cellular environment. We develop and deploy advanced proximity labeling techniques to capture RNA-protein, RNA-DNA, and RNA-RNA interactions with high spatial and temporal resolution.Functional ncRNA Discovery
In our lab, we want to understand which ncRNAs are important, and which parts of them are responsible for their activity. We develop and leverage CRISPR-based functional genomics platform to systematically decode these complex molecules. Using scalable perturbation strategies and advanced screening methodologies to disrupt specific genetic elements, we can map these cause-and-effect relationships across the transcriptome.RNA Bioengineering
Inspired by the functional potential of non-coding RNAs, our lab is pioneering the design of synthetic RNA biomedicines. We are establishing new directed evolution and synthetic biology platforms to select transcripts with novel bioactivities as well as build generative AI models for designing synthetic RNA biologics from the ground up.
Li, Yueying
Assistant Research Scientist
Lomize, Andrei, PhD
Research Scientist
Research Topics
Theoretical analysis of protein structure, folding, stability, evolution and interactions
Development of new methods, software and empirical energy functions for computational modeling of peptides, proteins and small molecules in membranes
Development of biological databases and other bioinformatics resources
Montgomery, John, PhD
Arthur F. Thurnau, Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor in Medicinal or Synthetic Chemistry and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Nagorny, Pavel, PhD
Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Narayan, Alison
Research Associate Professor, Life Sciences Institute; Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Co-Director, Michigan Life Sciences Fellows Program; and Faculty Associate in the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry
Neamati, Nouri, PhD
John G. Searle Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
Research Topics
Structure- and ligand-based drug design
Cellular and molecular pharmacology
Preclinical drug development
Select targets of interest include: ER stress (GRP78 and PDI); DNA-binding proteins (HIV-1 integrase, APE-1); Protein-protein interactions (HIV-1 integrase-LEDGF/p75, integrin v 3 , BCL2, MDM2-p53); GPCRs (CXCR2, CXCR4); Mitochonrial-targeted agents; Transcription factors (STAT3, Nrf2)