Graduate Faculty

Dr. Courtney Aldrich
Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-624-7997
Research Interest:
Antibiotics, tuberculosis, synthesis, enzymology
Elizabeth Ambrose headshot
Associate Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-626-2387
Research Interest:
Biological and chemical warfare agent mitigation; BSL-2, BSL-3 and select agent research; Homeland security; High-throughput and fragment screening, lead optimization; Psychiatric pharmacy and neuropharmacology
Erin Carlson
Smith Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-625-2580
Research Interest:
Chemical biology, infectious disease, bacterial imaging, proteomics, inhibitor development, natural products
Mark Distefano
Distinguished McKnight Professor & Merck Professor, Department of Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-624-0544
Research Interest:
Chemical synthesis, biochemistry, enzymology, drug design, protein prenylation
Adam Duerfeldt
Associate Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-624-6184
Research Interest:
PPAR modulation, antibacterial discovery, clostridium difficile, medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis
Haskell-Luevano Group
Professor & Philip S. Portoghese Endowed Chair in Chemical Neuroscience, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-626-9262
Research Interest:
Peptide chemistry, medicinal chemistry, G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) pharmacology, human receptor polymorphisms, neuroscience, voluntary exercise of mice, obesity, diabetes, feeding behavior
Thomas R. Hoye
Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-625-1891
Research Interest:
Organic synthesis, natural products, analogs and prodrugs, symmetry concepts, organometallic chemistry,NMR spectroscopy
Valerie Pierre Headshot
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-625-0921
Research Interest:
Diagnostics, bacterial infections, imaging
William Pomerantz Headshots
Associate Professor, McKnight Presidential Fellow, McKnight Land Grant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-624-9091
Research Interest:
Inhibitor discovery; Protein-protein interactions
Dr. W. Thomas Shier
Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-624-9465
Research Interest:
Development of novel non-viral vector transfection agents for use in human gene therapy, strategies for eliminating carcinogenic and estrogenic mycotoxins from the human food supply, exploration of the drug potential of betulins and other natural products
Dr. Natalia Tretyakova
Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-626-3432
Research Interest:
Structural basis for promutagenic and anticancer activity of DNA-modifying agents, DNA damage by tobacco carcinogens and lung cancer, DNA-DNA and DNA-protein cross-linking agents as carcinogens and drugs,DNA oxidation by endogenous reactive oxygen species
turesky
Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Office Phone: 612-626-0141
Research Interest:
Cancer, carcinogens, metabolism, biomarkers, mass spectrometry