Tosun Ayinde named Next Generation Innovator of the Year
Oluwatosin (Tosin) Ayinde, a PhD student in The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy's Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, received the 2023 Ohio State Next Generation Innovator of the Year award from the university. The award recognizes a postdoctoral, undergraduate or graduate student for innovation and entrepreneurship that has contributed to the development or commercialization of a new technology or a trainee-initiated start-up company whose success is a result of entrepreneurial talent, creativity and energy.
Ayinde’s work focuses on the design of novel protein degraders targeting Cyclin Dependent Kinase 9 (CDK9), a key protein in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), in collaboration with two senior researchers. Although CDK9 has been recognized as an important target for CDK9 therapy, small molecule inhibitors have unfortunately failed in the clinic for various reasons. With this in mind, Ayinde has worked on a complementary approach to targeting CDK9 using protein degraders to overcome some of the limitations observed with the small molecule drugs.
Ayinde has published three papers with an additional paper under review, and has been an inventor on two provisional patent applications within the past year. Prior to beginning her graduate studies in 2019, she worked as a scientist for Thermo Fisher’s bioanalytical R&D area.
Following graduation at Ohio State, Ayinde will complete postdoctoral studies at the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Her work has been recognized with graduate student research awards from the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in both 2021 and 2022. She has also been recognized for her efforts with an OSUCCC Pelotonia pre-doctoral fellowship and an American Society of Hematology Minority fellowship. Ayinde earned her bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in chemistry with a biology minor, and her master’s degree in medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy from Ohio State.