In the News –
Group Members of VTCDD Faculty
Amanda Nelson
Awarded a U.S. Fulbright Student Program grantAmanda Nelson
Amanda Nelson of Salisbury, North Carolina, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry in theCollege of Science, will be spending almost a year conducting research in synthetic chemistry at the University of Würzburg in Germany. Nelson’s research aims to understand and improve approaches to synthetic chemistry.
Molly Congdon
Presenter at the 49th Annual SouthEastern Regional Lipid Conference 2014Molly Congdon
Title of Presentation: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of Sphingosine Kinase 2 selective derivatives of guanidine-based inhibitors
Paul Velander
Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery 2014 Student Poster Session - Second Place WinnerPaul Velander
Title: Discovery and Mechanisms of Natural Product Inhibitors against Protein Amyloidosis in Type II Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease
Reeder Robinson
Strike while the iron is hot: a grad student investigates a promising TB drug target
Jessica Wynn
Oral Presentation Award: 2nd place for outstanding short oral presentation at the international BORAM XIV conference at Rutgers University June-2014Jessica Wynn
Title of Presentation: Boron-Acridine Chimeras: Functionalizing Branched Peptides Toward Targeting Folded RNA Structures
One of four recipients of the Graduate School Doctoral Assistantship Award in Chemistry – Spring 2015
Graduate Research Development Program Fund Award Recipient: Effects of Tunable Boronic Acids on the Binding Strength of Branched Peptides Towards HIV-1 RRE RNA. – Spring 2013 ($700)
Rachael Parker
The Finn Wold Travel Award from The Protein SocietyRachael Parker
Supported by contributions from the Society and its members—and named in honor of one of the Society’s founding members—the Wold Award is given to outstanding students based on scientific merit. In addition to financial support to contribute to the 28th Annual Symposium of The Protein Society (this year in San Diego), awardees will be recognized during the plenary awards session. Rachel’s work targets the design of a synthetic module that specifically binds the Mycobacteria cell wall. Her studies have implications in the development of inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic devices for TB.
Eugene Camerino
Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery 2014 Student Poster Session - First Place WinnerEugene Camerino
Title: Fluorinated Methylketone Prodrugs: Potential New Insecticides against An. Gambiae