Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy Graduate Studies

Faculty in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy have a broad range of expertise, which is echoed by the diversity of study of the graduate students. Graduate students receive instruction in individual and small group settings and perform original research to foster their technical abilities, increase the breadth and depth of their knowledge, and sharpen their critical thinking skills.

Students can specialize their research into one of the four tracks below:

• Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry – students receive training and perform original research regarding the design, synthesis, and structural optimization of biologically active molecules and potential drug candidates.
   
• Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy – students are trained to perform the isolation, characterization, biological evaluation and derivatization of molecules from natural sources such as plants and microorganisms.
   
• Biochemistry – students conduct the detailed pharmacological evaluation of drugs and drug candidates of interest to faculty members in the division, including exploration of the mechanism(s) of action of these candidates.
   
• Computational Medicinal Chemistry – students investigate new approaches for computer-aided drug design, including the development of new computational methods.

Each student may take a slightly different path to complete the minimum core courses by the end of the second year. Electives necessary for research specialization may be taken during years two and three. Additional courses depend on research interests, and are taken during the second and/or third years as well.