University of Pittsburgh Hosts 31st National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium This Week

PITTSBURGH, June 2008 — The 31st National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium is being held June 15-19 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Sessions start each day at 8:30 a.m.

Speakers include experts from the pharmaceutical industry and research universities and will cover topics including:

Molecular Approaches to Cancer Therapy
Inflammation and Immunology
Biomarkers/PET
Nucleic Acid Targeting Strategies
Late-Breaking and First Time Disclosures
During the symposium, the 2008 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Richter Award will be presented to Jan Heeres, followed by his lecture, “Progress in the Development of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors: From Tibo to Rilpivrine.” Heeres’ work has led to the development of drugs commonly used for numerous conditions, including fungal infections, hyperlipidemia, and HIV.

Akimitsu Okamoto, Ph.D., of RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, will be honored with the 2008 Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry Award for his work on the design, synthesis and physical properties of new, man-made biopolymers. His award lecture is entitled, “DNA-Osmium Complex for DNA Methylation Analysis.”

The 2008 Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award also will be presented to Duane D. Miller from the University of Tennessee at Memphis, followed by his lecture, “Search for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators.”

“This symposium represents an opportunity to share knowledge with the leading experts