Expert discusses natural products chemistry and anticancer drug discovery

Contact: Thom Myers
Photo Dr Gunda .

Georg

KALAMAZOO--Dr. Gunda I. Georg, an expert in medicinal chemistry, drug discovery and natural products chemistry, will deliver the 2012 Harmon Lecture at Western Michigan University from 4 to 5:15 p.m. Monday, April 9, in Room 1260 of the Chemistry Building.

Georg will address "Natural Products as Leads for Anticancer Drug Discovery." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 1,000 new small molecule drugs in the past 30 years. Of the approved anticancer agents, 74 percent are natural product-derived. Thus, natural products continue to be an excellent source as drugs or leads for drug discovery efforts.

A reception will follow the lecture, which is open to the public free of charge.

Tuesday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Georg will speak on "The Evolving Landscape for Drug Discovery Innovation," also in Room 1260 of the Chemistry Building. The second talk will provide an overview of the health care challenges in the future, including increases in world population, global health challenges, changing age demographics, and increasing health care costs.

Georg is professor and department head for the College of Pharmacy's Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, where she holds the Robert Vince Endowed Chair and McKnight Presidential Chair. She is director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development.

She earned a doctorate in 1980 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 1981 at Philipps Universitat Marburg, Institut fur Pharmazeutische Chemie, Germany. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 1983 at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Contact Dr. Elke Schoffers, WMU professor of chemistry, at elke.schoffers@wmich.edu for more information about the lectures.