They were recognized for their outstanding research scholarship and a deep commitment to undergraduate education and each received $75,000 to fund their research.

Pollock is a recipient of the 2025 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

An analysis of recent prodrugs reported in the literature is discussed. The range of strategies includes ProTide technologies, esters, phosphates, cell-targeting approaches, pH-dependent approaches, and newer technologies such as photo- and radiation-activated prodrugs. Many successful prodrug approaches have been a result of the first three examples, which appear to be well established. One area of significant impact for prodrug technology has been with anti-infectives. This area is discussed in detail with learnings and innovations that can be applied to other disease areas. Finally, the prodrug strategy is discussed in the context of both reactive and proactive applications. If used as a rescue strategy for a failed clinical candidate, it can be potentially costly and time-consuming. Proactive prodrug strategies should be considered in the early phase of drug discovery programs, especially in cases in which chemotype properties or target-based risks may compromise the desired route of administration.

The Department of Chemistry in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Richmond invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in Physical Chemistry at the rank of Assistan...

More than 900 research grants worth $2.6 billion are in jeopardy. So is the 80-year-old model of American science.

A federal judge ruled that some of the grant terminations by the National Institutes of Health on DEI grounds are “void and illegal.”

In a typical undergraduate biochemistry course, two main educational objectives include (1) understanding and applying how genetic mutations can influence protein structure and function, and (2) exami...

Studying protein-drug interactions to avoid side effects

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Jerome H. Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, says the central bank’s “obligation” is to ensure that a “one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem.”

Targeting the genes regulate the lineage commitment of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to adipocytes provides a promising strategy for addressing…

NIH funding for biomedical research has abruptly fallen by billions of dollars, with many grant decisions on hold. Trump officials say they’re reviewing the agency.

Copper amine oxidases (CAOs) catalyze the oxidative deamination of primary amines to aldehyde, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide as products and are widely distributed in bacteria, plants, and eukaryotes...

The Department of Biology in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Richmond invites applications for a Visiting Lecturer in Human Anatomy and Physiology to begin on August 19, 2025. W...

The Department of Chemistry in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Richmond invites applications for a Visiting Lecturer in Organic Chemistry to begin on August 19, 2025. We seek a ...

Changes to the female brain during menopause, together with social and cultural factors, might affect disease risk.

Photoswitchable antibiotic hybrids: Potentials for creating phtoswitchable antibiotic hybrids using norfloxacin/ciproflocacin and azoisoxazole (photoswitch) pharmacophores have been explored. Against...

Donald Trump baffled viewers of his congressional address when he discussed the $8 million he said he and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had found for "making mice transgender"

Various biological agents have been developed to target tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and its receptor TNFR1 for the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) t…

This special issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry celebrates Prof. John A. Katzenellenbogen, PhD and his 55-year career exploring the interface among chemistry, biology, and medicine. As a pion...

The HIV-1 Nef accessory factor enhances the viral life cycle in vivo, promotes immune escape of HIV-infected cells, and represents an attractive antir…

Synthetic macrocyclic peptides are an emerging molecular class for both targeting intracellular protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and providing an oral modality for drug targets typically addressed by biologics. Display technologies, such as mRNA and phage display, often yield peptides that are too large and too polar to achieve passive permeability or oral bioavailability without substantial off-platform medicinal chemistry. Herein, we use DNA-encoded cyclic peptide libraries to discover a neutral nonapeptide, UNP-6457, that inhibits MDM2–p53 interaction with an IC50 of 8.9 nM. X-ray structural analysis of the MDM2–UNP-6457 complex revealed mutual binding interactions and identified key ligand modification points which may be tuned to enhance its pharmacokinetic profile. These studies showcase how tailored DEL libraries can directly yield macrocyclic peptides benefiting from low MW, TPSA, and HBD/HBA counts that are capable of potently inhibiting therapeutically relevant protein–protein interactions.

"We are very much at risk of losing an entire generation of researchers."

Rhomboid proteases have fascinated scientists by virtue of their membrane-embedded active sites and proposed involvement in physiological and disease pathways. The human rhomboid protease RHBDL4 has generated particular interest due to its role in endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation and upregulation in several cancers; however, chemical tools for studying this enzyme are currently lacking. Here, we describe the development of an activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) assay for RHBDL4. We have employed this assay to determine that human RHBDL4 undergoes proteolytic processing in cells to produce multiple active proteoforms with truncated C-termini. We have also used this assay to identify chemical scaffolds capable of inhibiting RHBDL4 activity and have observed distinct inhibitor preferences between RHBDL4 and a second human rhomboid protease PARL. Our work demonstrates the power of ABPP technology to characterize active forms of enzymes that might otherwise elude detection and the potential to achieve selective inhibition among the human rhomboid proteases.

The Department of Chemistry at St. Olaf College invites applications for a full-time, one or two-year position in Chemistry at the Visiting Assistant Professor level to begin August 2025.

Among bacteria used as anticancer vaccines, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lmat) stands out, because it spreads from one infected cancer cell to the next, induces a strong adaptive immune response, and is suitable for repeated injection cycles. Here, we use click chemistry to functionalize the Lmat cell wall and turn the bacterium into an “intelligent carrier” of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. Doxorubicin-loaded Lmat retains most of its biological properties and, compared to the control fluorophore-functionalized bacteria, shows enhanced cytotoxicity against melanoma cells both in vitro and in a xenograft model in zebrafish. Our results show that drugs can be covalently loaded on the Lmat cell wall and pave the way to the development of new two-in-one therapeutic approaches combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy.

The depth of his extremism has not been fully conveyed to the public.

Bird flu has killed millions of hens in recent weeks, shrinking the supply of eggs and hiking up prices at grocery stores.

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ALT: a judge is sitting in a courtroom and saying `` well duh ! ''