Our Science – LMC Website

Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry

Research

The Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry (LMC) is a multidisciplinary laboratory, which emphasizes chemical science at the interface of chemistry and biology. A major focus of the LMC is the discovery of new anticancer and anti-AIDS drugs based on biomechanistic rationale and the structural optimization of newly discovered lead compounds. A diverse group of organic chemists, analytical chemists, and molecular modeling experts interacts closely to create a research environment that maximizes new drug discovery. Close collaborations also are developed with non-LMC biological scientists studying specific enzymes as potential drug targets. Research projects are initiated by medicinal chemists and/or biologists, with each playing a critical role in all stages of research. Facilities and equipment include state-of-the art organic synthesis laboratories, two mass spectrometers, two NMR spectrometers (400 MHz and 500 MHz), CD, UV and FT-IR spectrometers, an automated peptide synthesizer, multiple HPLCs, a 96-CPU parallel computer cluster, multiple PCs and personal printers.

The LMC has six scientists who carry out independent work in the areas of organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, bioorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, NMR spectroscopy and computer-aided drug design (CADD). Each individual scientist functions as a section head and is responsible for the administration of his group and the hiring of postdoctoral fellows to carry out his/her research. In addition, the LMC has a Ph.D. level laboratory manager, a Ph.D. level system administrator, a Ph.D. level staff chemist, three M.S. level staff chemists, a secretary and approximately 20 postdoctoral training fellows with recent Ph.D. degrees.

This page was last updated on 12/19/2008.