Division of Medicinal Chemistry News
October 2021
Biotech Industry Leader Named Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus
October 5, 2021
OXFORD, Miss. – G. Michael Wall, a 1988 University of Mississippi alumnus, has been named the School of Pharmacy Department of BioMolecular Sciences’ 2021 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient.
Wall is senior vice president and chief scientific officer at Nacuity Pharmaceuticals Inc., and vice president of pharmaceutical development for Sound Pharmaceuticals Inc. He will deliver the Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Lecture, titled “Drug Repurposing, New Uses for Old Drugs,” at 2 p.m. Friday (Oct. 8) in the Thad Cochran Research Center, Room 1044.
Read More: “Biotech Industry Leader Named Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus”
August 2021
The BMS STEMS REU program came to an end with a 2 day season finale of outstanding student presentations. Lots of thanks go out to the students for their enthusiastic engagement in their research; our faculty mentors; and the students’ near-peer graduate student & postdoc mentors.
July 2021
April 2021
January 2021
Pharmacy Professor Receives UM Faculty Achievement Award
January 31, 2021
OXFORD, Miss. – Becoming a professor was David Colby’s goal as a pharmacy student at the University of Iowa.
Serving as an associate professor of medicinal chemistry and director of academic affairs in biomolecular sciences at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Colby’s excellence in teaching, scholarship and service was recognized, as he was named the 2020 recipient of the university’s Faculty Achievement Award.
Read More: “Pharmacy Professor Receives UM Faculty Achievement Award”
September 2020
Faculty Feature: Jing Li
September 24, 2020
Jing Li joined the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy as an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry in July. He comes to the school from the University of Chicago, where he spent five years as a postdoctoral research associate.
Li brings an extensive background based in biomolecular science and academia to the school, which he hopes to pass on to his students. In addition to his work with the University of Chicago, Li also received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014.
Read More: “Faculty Feature: Jing Li”
April 2020
Pharmacy Faculty Named Distinguished Teaching Scholars
April 22, 2020
OXFORD and JACKSON, Miss. — University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy faculty members David Colby, Meagen Rosenthal and Gary Theilman have been named as Distinguished Teaching Scholars for a three-year term.
The honor recognizes professors who have proven to be exceptional teachers and colleagues, and who promote effective teaching and learning.
Read More: “Pharmacy Faculty Named Distinguished Teaching Scholars”
January 2020
Pharmacy Faculty Selected to AACP House of Delegates
January 27, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy faculty members David Colby and Noa Valcarcel were selected to represent the school in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy House of Delegates.
The AACP House of Delegates is the association’s democratic policy-setting body. Representatives debate and approve statements of educational policy, approve changes to the bylaws and the strategic plan, act to accept new institutional members and establish dues for all categories of membership.
Read More: “Pharmacy Faculty Selected to AACP House of Delegates”
October 2019
Opioid Researcher to Deliver 2019 Waller Lecture
October 8, 2019
OXFORD, Miss. – Laura M. Bohn, professor of molecular medicine and neuroscience at The Scripps Research Institute, will deliver the 2019 Coy W. Waller Distinguished Lecture at the University of Mississippi.
The Oct. 11 lecture, “Refining Opioid Receptor Signaling to Improve Therapeutic Potential,” will build on her nearly three decades of research into the impact of opioids on the brain. The School of Pharmacy and its Department of BioMolecular Sciences are hosting this free event at 11 a.m. at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
Read more: “Opioid Researcher to Deliver 2019 Waller Lecture”
September 2019
September 23, 2019
OXFORD, Miss. – Maria Alvim Gaston, a 2000 University of Mississippi graduate with a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry, was named the School of Pharmacy Department of BioMolecular Sciences’ 2019 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Award honoree.
Gaston, a principal research scientist at Eli Lilly and Company, delivered the Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Lecture on September 23 with a presentation titled “A Scientist Journey—Moments of Truth.”
Read more: “Eli Lilly Scientist Named Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus”
August 2019
BMS Welcome Back Orientation and Awards Ceremony!
August 23, 2019
The Department of BioMolecular Sciences kicked off the new school year with its Welcome Back Orientation on August 23. We welcomed 6 new graduate students to the department, for a total of 39 BMS graduate students, and 2 new faculty members!
See more pictures at the Facebook gallery: “BMS Welcome Back Orientation”
August 2019
July 2019
Congratulations to Dr. John Rimoldi for being awarded the 2019 AACP Wynn Award! The criteria for this award is teaching excellence and commitment to learning, inspirational leader, visionary academic, concientious mentor, collegial/kind/optimistic disposition and sustained dedication to the AACP Chemistry Section.
May 2019
School of Pharmacy Ranked Sixth in Research Funding
May 7, 2019
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy rose to sixth in the nation in external research funding for 2018, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Research funding reached $21.2 million in 2018, placing the School of Pharmacy second in the SEC and among the top 5 percent of pharmacy schools nationwide.
Read more: “School of Pharmacy Ranked Sixth in Research Funding”
April 2019
Congratulations to our 2019 Rho Chi inductees! Rho Chi is an honors society that recognizes outstanding scholastic achievement in pharmaceutical sciences. Keep up the great work!
2019 Rho Chi Inductees: (left to right) back row: Dr. Hoang Le, Dr. Nicole Ashpole, Dr. Cole Stevens, Nick Akins, Cody Cissom and Erik Hodges; front row: Hanan Albataineh, Stephanie Burr and Amber Kay.
Congratulations to Medicinal Chemistry grad student, Nick Akins, for his newly-awarded graduate student council grant to develop opioid receptor ligands! Keep up the great work!
February 2019
February 19, 2019
As proud alum, Dr. Roy and Dr. Paris united post-docs from across campus to discuss the benefits of our community joining the National Postdoctoral Association. We can’t wait to see how our post-docs can grow and work together!
February 6, 2019
New paper alert from the Doerksen lab! Check out the latest work developing cannabinoid receptor 2 modulators: Negative allosteric modulators of cannabinoid receptor 2: protein modeling, binding site identification and molecular dynamics simulations in the presence of an orthosteric agonist
Keep up the good work Dr. Pankaj Pandey and Dr. Robert Doerksen!
December 2018
BioMolecular Sciences Advocacy Council Enhances Graduate Student Experience
December 17, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – The graduate students and faculty of the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences have worked together to reestablish an organization that will benefit the many graduate students within the department.
The BMS Graduate Student Advocacy Council formed during the fall of 2018 as the department renewed its official student registration of the former BMS Journal Club. The organization plans to include more opportunities for interaction outside of the labs with faculty and student networking events, journal club meetings and football tailgates.
Read more: “BioMolecular Sciences Advocacy Council Enhances Graduate Student Experience”
September 2018
Ole Miss Professor Awarded NIDA Grant to Fight Opioid Addiction
November 27, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – David Colby, a University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy professor, received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop new treatments for addressing the opioid crisis.
Colby hopes to develop a therapy for drug addiction by studying the medicinal chemistry of certain compounds that can lower the anxiety some patients experience when withdrawing from an addiction.
Read more: “Ole Miss Professor Awarded NIDA Grant to Fight Opioid Addiction”
September 19, 2018
Happy Post-Doc Appreciation Week, Dr. Pandey!
Dr. Pankaj Pandey has been an incredibly busy post-doc, with two publications in press this month! Check out the links to his two papers below:
Computationally Assisted Assignment of the Kadsuraols, a Class of Chemopreventive Agents for the Control of Liver Cancer
Interactions of endocannabinoid virodhamine and related analogs with human monoamine oxidase-A and -B
August 2018
BMS Welcomes Back Students at Orientation, Awards Luncheon
August 17, 2018
The Department of BioMolecular Sciences kicked off the new school year with its Welcome Back Orientation on August 17. The day consisted of the Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Lecture featuring 2018 recipient Randall Clark in the morning before the awards luncheon and department photo in the afternoon.
See more pictures at the Facebook gallery: “BMS Welcome Back Orientation”
Forensic Chemist Named Ole Miss 2018 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus
August 13, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – Randall Clark, a 1973 University of Mississippi graduate with a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry, has been named the School of Pharmacy Department of BioMolecular Sciences’ 2018 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Award honoree.
Clark earned degrees in both biology and chemistry from Berry College in Mt. Berry, Georgia, before receiving his Ph.D. under the direction of late Ole Miss professor Ronald F. Borne. He has spent his 45-year academic career at Auburn University, where he is a professor of medicinal chemistry, mentoring over 50 Master’s and Ph.D. students.
Read more: “Forensic Chemist Named Ole Miss 2018 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus”
June 2018
Faculty, Researchers Honored at Pharmacy School Annual Retreat
JACKSON, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy presented four faculty and researchers awards for
their excellence in and commitment to research, teaching and service at its annual faculty retreat on June 14.
“We are fortunate at our school to have talented faculty and scientists committed to our mission, so it’s a privilege to award them for their outstanding efforts,” said David D. Allen, dean of the School of Pharmacy.
Read more: “Faculty, Researchers Honored at Pharmacy School Annual Retreat”
May 2018
Pharmacy Postdoctoral Fellow Honored for Outstanding Poster Presentation
OXFORD, Miss. – Pankaj Pandey, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, won the Ronald F. Borne Outstanding Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Award at the 45th Annual MALTO Meeting in College Station, Texas.
The MALTO conference, for medicinal and natural product chemists from Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma, gives the Borne Award to one postdoctoral fellow at the conference each year based on their interview and research poster.
Read more: “Pharmacy Postdoctoral Fellow Honored for Outstanding Poster Presentation”
UM Graduate Programs Highly Ranked by U.S. News & World Report
May 2, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi offers 14 graduate programs ranked in the Top 100 among public institutions. Seven programs joined the ranks of the Top 100 in the recent 2019 edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings, adding to seven other UM graduate programs that were previously ranked.
Read more: “UM Graduate Programs Highly Ranked by U.S. News & World Report”
March 2018
Please join us in congratulating BMS graduate student AyoOluwa Aderibigbe and postdoctoral research associate Dr. Pankaj Pandey, in receiving the following award and honorable mention from the 15th annual meeting of the MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society (MCBIOS).
- AyoOluwa Aderibigbe received the 2nd place MCBIOS-SAS Young Scientist Excellence Award 2018 for students, Dr. Robert Doerksen’s lab
- Dr. Pankaj Pandey received Honorable Mention for the MCBIOS-SAS Young Scientist Excellence Award 2018 for postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Robert Doerksen’s lab
February 2018
Two Pharmacy Faculty Win New Investigator Awards
February 27, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – Two assistant professors in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, both from the Department of BioMolecular Sciences, have won prestigious 2018 New Investigator Awards from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Hoang Le, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry, and Cole Stevens, assistant professor of pharmacognosy, each won one of only 16 new investigator awards bestowed by AACP this year.
Dr. Steven’s winning proposal is entitled Production of Predation-Associated Antimicrobials From Cryptic Biosynthetic Pathways.
Dr. Le’s winning proposal is entitled Development of Glutaminase and Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors for Cancer.
Read more: “Two Pharmacy Faculty Win New Investigator Awards”
December 2017
Pharmacy Professor Becomes Graduate School Associate Dean
December 12, 2017
OXFORD, Miss. – Robert Doerksen, associate professor of medicinal chemistry, is the new associate dean of the University of Mississippi Graduate School. As of Monday (Dec. 11), he will manage the Office of the Graduate School and assist with expanding graduate education initiatives.
A faculty member in the School of Pharmacy since 2004, Doerksen has mentored graduate students for many years. He spent the last year as the director of the graduate program of the medicinal chemistry division within the school’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences.
Read more: “Pharmacy Professor Becomes Graduate School Associate Dean”
September 2017
Jimmie Valentine Named 2017 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus
September 21, 2017
OXFORD, Miss. – Jimmie Valentine, a 1968 University of Mississippi graduate with a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry, has been named the School of Pharmacy Department of BioMolecular Sciences’ 2017 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus Award honoree.
Valentine holds degrees in both biology and chemistry from Centenary College of Louisiana and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in medicinal chemistry from the UM School of Pharmacy. Retiring from the University of Arkansas in 2008 after 19 years as a professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and myeloma research, Valentine is now a consultant in medical pharmacology and toxicology.
Read more: “Jimmie Valentine Named 2017 Joseph Sam Distinguished Alumnus”
August 2017
The Annual BioMolecular Sciences, Graduate Student Awards were presented on August 18th, at the Graduate Student Welcome Back/ New Student Orientation. These are all outstanding and prestigious awards. Congratulations!
Division of Medicinal Chemistry
- Munia Sowaileh – Nobles-Sam Graduate Research Award 2015-2016
- Veda Gogineni– Nobles-Sam Graduate Research Award 2016-2017
Munia Sowaileh and Dr. John Rimoldi
Veda Gogineni and Dr. John Rimoldi
The BMS Welcome Back Graduate Students/ New Graduate Student Orientation, held on August 18th, was a success! Looking forward to a great, new academic year.
April 2017
Pharmacy Professor Wins Prestigious Elsie M. Hood Teaching Award
April 11, 2017
OXFORD, Miss. – John Rimoldi, professor of medicinal chemistry in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, is the winner of the 2017 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.
This award recognizes one Ole Miss professor each year who embodies teaching excellence and exceptional student engagement. Students and faculty submit letters of nomination, and honorees are usually nominated many times over before winning.
Read more: “Pharmacy Professor Wins Prestigious Elsie M. Hood Teaching Award”