Medicinal Chemistry Department
Medicinal chemistry brings together the disciplines of chemistry and pharmacology in the design, synthesis, and development of pharmaceutical drugs. In the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, our work encompasses the transformation of new chemical entities into potential therapies as well as the study of existing drugs, their biological properties, and their quantitative structure-activity relationships. The Department of Medicinal Chemistry offers a robust research- and academic-based program leveraging synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, computational chemistry, molecular biology, and pharmacology.
Faculty Research
Our faculty teach undergraduate courses, mentor graduate students, and conduct innovative research in medicinal chemistry. Among the developments emerging from the research groups of our distinguished scientists are:
- Structure based drug design of antivirals
- Site-specific anticancer prodrugs that activate upon reaching tumor tissue, thus minimizing toxicity and maximizing efficacy
- Synthesis of sulfur containing covalent small molecules
- Arginylation Targeting Chimeras as anticancer therapeutics.
For more information on research being done in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, click here .
The Department also hosts visiting professors, who add much to the intellectual vitality of our work, and collaborates with research colleagues across Rutgers. Our research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, and the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, among others. Attesting to the innovative nature of this research are several drug patents, investigational new drug applications, and commercial licensures of novel technologies. See the Department News section for more information on these exciting results.
PharmD Education
The department is committed to providing a thorough understanding of the factors influencing drug design to both pharmacy students and non-pharmacy majors. Our faculty members teach both undergraduate and graduate courses including:
Students are encouraged to further explore medicinal chemistry by conducting research with faculty. The department supports students’ endeavors by participating in available scholarship and fellowship opportunities, including the Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
MS and PhD Education
Medicinal chemistry is an exciting, multidisciplinary field for graduate study in drug discovery. The Graduate Program in Medicinal Chemistry offers a PhD program as well as two options for pursuing a master’s degree. A PharmD/PhD dual-degree program, developed for high-achieving students with strong research interests, provides an accelerated pathway to a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry. Graduate students study and conduct research under the close guidance of faculty members within the Department of Medicinal Chemistry as well as other Rutgers departments.
Facilities and Instrumentation
Students have access to a wide range of modern instrumentation and equipment used in the design and synthesis of new therapeutic agents, both within the department’s facilities and nearby at the laboratories of our Rutgers affiliates. A detailed overview can be found on the facilities and instrumentation page.
