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Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy

Faculty of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy have diverse research interests in drug discovery and development. Division members pursue interdisciplinary research involving medicinal chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, natural products chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry and computer-aided molecular design.

Current research in the division includes: 

  • The identification of natural products with anticancer, anti-infective, and other biological activities.
  • The discovery of synthetic anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, neuroprotective, and antiparasitic drugs.
  • The use of medicinal chemistry approaches to optimize therapeutic candidates and identify potent and efficacious lead compounds.
  • The use of chemical biology approaches to create synthetic molecular probes and identify biological targets of small molecules.
  •  The identification of hit compounds against cancer and infectious diseases using rational design and screening approaches.
  • The elucidation of novel microbial biosynthetic pathways and secondary metabolites.
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The Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy 2023

Division Chair

Blake Peterson Headshot

Blake R. Peterson, PhD 
Chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy

Administrative Assistant: Ian Ghidossi, ghidossi.2@osu.edu

Division Faculty

Daniel Adu-Ampratwum, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

Many organic small molecules serve as drug leads for drug discovery and drug development programs. Understanding the structure and mechanism of action of these small molecules is essential for drug lead optimization. Also having a reliable synthetic access to these organic small molecules is important to aid in SAR studies and lead optimization in the search for new drugs for various diseases. Dr. Adu-Ampratwum's area of interest includes exploring novel synthetic methods for the synthesis of small organic molecules as lead compounds for drug discovery. His current research area focuses on designing and synthesizing small molecules to study HIV and cancer biology and as potential therapeutics.
Other research areas: Cancer, Chemical Synthesis
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Daniel Adu-Ampratwum

Jonathan Boyce, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Boyce's lab develops protease-cleavable linkers for peptide prodrugs and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to minimize neutropenia, a common side effect for FDA-approved protease-cleavable ADCs due to premature drug release. The Boyce lab designs biomolecular prodrugs to combat cancer resistance in ccRCC, ovarian, and breast cancers, and focuses on the chemical synthesis, medicinal chemistry optimization, and target evaluation of natural product classes with rare selectivity against cancer.

His lab's research interests focus on protease-activated prodrug development, prodrug linker optimization for cancer therapeutics, biomolecular prodrug development to combat cancer resistance, chemical synthesis of natural product analogs with rare selectivity against cancer, and synthesis of photoaffinity probes for target ID.
Other research areas: Cancer, Chemical Synthesis, Natural Products, Chemical Biology, Nanotechnology & Drug Delivery Systems
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Jonathan Boyce

Esperanza Carcache de Blanco, PhD

Associate Professor

Dr. Carcache de Blanco's research interests focus on the discovery of bioactive constituents from natural product sources with potential application in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. She is also interested in the study of botanical dietary supplements and other herbal products used in traditional medicine.
Other research areas: Cancer, Natural Products
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Esperanza Carcache de Blanco

Xiaolin Cheng, PhD

Professor

Dr. Cheng’s laboratory aims to develop an interdisciplinary research program centered on Computer Aided Drug Design and Discovery. Closely collaborating with experimental chemists and biologists, our group utilizes a myriad of computational modeling & simulation, and data analytics techniques to understand molecular basis of drug action and to rationally design new drug molecules. Our group also has long-standing interests in: a) developing and applying multiscale computational techniques to investigate the structure, dynamics and function of complex biomolecular (and cellular ) systems; and b) bridge large-scale molecular simulation with systems biology (cellular metabolism and signaling networks) towards a new drug discovery paradigm.
Other research areas: Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Chemical Biology, Computational Biomedicine & Data Analytics
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Xiaolin Cheng

James Fuchs

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies

The research in Dr. Fuchs' lab focuses on the design and preparation of bioactive molecules for therapeutic applications against cancer and infectious diseases. His lab utilizes fundamental chemical knowledge and synthetic methodology to facilitate the process of drug discovery and development through the generation of biological probe molecules, the synthesis and modification of lead compounds, and the optimization of drug properties. The overarching goals of these studies are to understand the mechanisms through which small molecules interact with proteins or other biomolecules in the context of disease progression and to improve the potential utility of promising new compounds to help them advance toward the clinic. Recently, the Fuchs lab has collaborated with numerous labs in the areas of natural product drug development for various cancers, the preparation of protein degraders active against leukemia, and HIV-1 capsid and integrase drug development.
Other research areas: Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Chemical Synthesis, Natural Products
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James Fuchs

Kou-San Ju, PhD

Associate Professor

My interdisciplinary research program is inspired by the metabolic diversity of microorganisms and the vast array of compounds they produce. Working at the interface of chemistry and biology, my group combines approaches in chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, genetics, and systems biology to discover new natural products, identify bioactivity and mode of action, and to decipher the metabolic basis of their biosynthesis. Ultimately, we seek to translate insights gained from our investigations into solutions for modern day challenges facing human health and the environment. These include new antibiotics to counter drug-resistant pathogens, novel herbicides and biocontrol agents to improve pest management and food security, and engineered biocatalysts to facilitate chemical production by green chemistry and industrial biotechnology.
Other research areas: Central Nervous System Disorders, Infectious Diseases, Chemical Biology, Computational Biomedicine & Data Analytics, Natural Products
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Kou-San Ju

A. Douglas Kinghorn, PhD, DSc

Distinguished University Professor

The research interests of Dr. Kinghorn are on the isolation, characterization and biological evaluation of natural products of higher plant origin, and he has worked in particular on compounds with potential antimicrobial, cancer chemotherapeutic, cancer chemopreventive, sweet-tasting, and bitterness-blocking effects, in addition to the scientific study of botanical dietary supplements.
Other research areas: Cancer, Natural Products
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A. Douglas Kinghorn

Pui Kai (Tom) Li, PhD

Associate Professor

Dr. Li’s research interest focuses on the design, syntheses and studies of small molecules for cancers and infectious diseases. In the cancer area, our group focus on prostate and pancreatic cancer. Novel molecules are developed using the strategies of drug repurposing and structure-based drug design (in collaboration with Dr. Xiaolin Cheng). In the research of infectious disease, our focus is on the development of small molecules for the treatment of COVID-19. Novel molecules are generated through computational chemistry, molecular modeling and virtual screening targeting the interface of spike protein and human ACE-2 receptor.
Other research areas: Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Chemical Synthesis
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Pui Kai (Tom) Li

Mark Mitton-Fry, PhD

Associate Professor

Dr. Mitton-Fry’s research team is dedicated to inventing cures for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The lab uses the tools of synthetic medicinal chemistry to design and prepare innovative new molecules, and we collaborate broadly to evaluate their biological, pharmaceutical, and toxicological properties. Dr. Mitton-Fry also enjoys teaching students at all levels about antibacterial therapies.
Other research areas: Infectious Diseases
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Mark Mitton-Fry

Blake R. Peterson, PhD

Chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy

Dr. Peterson’s research group works to design, synthesize, and discover small molecules that affect the proliferation of cancer cells and associated immune cells that support malignancy. To identify these compounds, the Peterson laboratory synthesizes fluorescent molecular probes as tools for drug discovery. These probes are used to create target-based or phenotypic drug discovery assays to identify anticancer agents with novel mechanisms of action. To optimize and evaluate these compounds, they use synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology approaches. In conjunction with high throughput screening by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and other related techniques, his laboratory identifies chemical probes of biological systems, uncovers mechanisms of biologically active agents, and discovers hit and lead compounds for the development of therapeutics.
Other research areas: Cancer, Chemical Biology, Chemical Synthesis
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Blake R. Peterson

Liva Rakotondraibe, PhD

Associate Professor

New natural product sources (new and unidentified fungal and bacterial microorganisms, microbial endophytes, new endemic and medicinal plant species, etc.) contain many undiscovered potential bioactive secondary metabolites that can be used to combat world’s deadly diseases including cancer, malaria, viral infections, and chemoresistance. Their investigation must be prioritized in order to discover new pharmacophores for potential drug candidates. My lab focuses on (1) bioassay-guided isolation, structural elucidation and development of bioactive compounds from natural sources, (2) Drug discovery from Madagascan natural products and (3) drug discovery from ethnomedicine. One of our recent ongoing projects is on the development of insecticides that can be used to control mosquito vector of Zika virus from Madagascan endemic plants.
Other research areas: Cancer, Natural Products
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Liva Rakotondraibe

Karl Werbovetz, PhD

Assistant Dean for Faculty Success

Parasitic diseases have a devastating effect on public health in developing areas of the world. Research in Karl Werbovetz’s group focuses on the discovery and development of new drug candidates against the protozoan parasitic diseases leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, and malaria, with most of our recent efforts concentrating on visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).
Other research areas: Infectious Diseases
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Karl Werbovetz