MOLECULAR DIVERSITY & DRUG DESIGN: Showcase of UofL Expertise

1. The Institute for Molecular Diversity & Drug Design Symposium 2009 MOLECULAR DIVERSITY & DRUG DESIGN:Showcase of UofL Expertise Hank Wagner Conference CenterJewish Hospital HealthCare Services 200 Abraham Flexner Way Tuesday, March 10, 20098:30 AM – 2:00 PM Please contact Sarah Andres (sarah.andres@louisville.edu) to register at no charge for the conference and reception. Featured Speakers: Al Cunningham studied Biology and Philosophy at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and received a Ph.D. in Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh in 1998. He was recruited to the Brown Cancer Center and joined IMD3 where Al’s novel research includes computational toxicology and modeling of SARs of chemical carcinogens and environmental aspects of breast cancer. Al is PI on several imaginative grants including two IDEA awards from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and serves as a project PI on the new Molecular Targets COBRE Grant at the Brown Cancer Center. DickWittebort, distinguished investigator and teacher, joined the Department of Chemistry in 1980. Previously, he excelled as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in chemical physics at MIT after completing an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship at Indiana University. Dick’s superb research focuses on physical properties of biomolecules, emphasizing use of solid state NMR. He is a member of several study sections and the editorial board of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. Dick is highly respected for his publications appearing in high quality journals, such as JACS and JBC. He made noteworthy contributions to the NMR and Structural Biology Programs in Chemistry and the Brown Cancer Center. Dick’s ability to teach students to think critically and creatively resulted in superb academic and industry positions. Kyung Kang joined UofL in 2000 as Professor of Chemical Engineering after serving on the faculty at UMBC (Maryland). Her extensive training includes a Ph.D. from U.C. Davis and a Postdoctoral fellowship at UPENN. Kyung is a prolific and respected author whose honors include the Knisely Award for Young Investigators, International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue, Most Outstanding Research Paper 1997 by Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, NSF CAREER Award and 2004, 2005 and 2008 Research!Louisville Awards for Innovation in Biotechnology. Kyung has been a University Scholar since 2001. G.B. Hammond,Professor of Chemistry,received a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham in England. Before joining the UofL in 2004, he served on the Chemistry faculty, U. Mass Dartmouth, receiving the Teacher-Scholar Award and the Scholar-Fellow Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. G.B. also was a Fulbright Scholar in Chemistry, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. His productive research team focuses on organo-fluorine chemistry and plant medicinal natural products. In 2008, G.B. received the distinguished post of Program Director, Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program at the NSF. Roland Valdes serves as Chief of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology at University Hospital and Director of the Postdoctoral Clinical Chemistry Fellowship Program. He is an internationally recognized leader for advancing the clinical chemistry profession by promoting laboratory medicine with scholarships in clinical service, research and teaching. Roland’s distinguished biography and extramurally-funded research are widely regarded. He is the principal founder of PGXL Laboratories based in Louisville, where his team is currently working on transitioning the