Medicinal Chemistry is a dynamic, multifaceted scientific discipline that is dedicated to the improvement of human health through research leading to new concepts for the design and development of therapeutic and diagnostic agents. The focus of Medicinal Chemistry is on biology, which distinguishes it from traditional chemistry, and it uses chemical tools, which distinguishes it from traditional biology. The field also has deep connections with medicine and molecular pharmacology. Research in Medicinal Chemistry is directed toward biomedical and pharmaceutical discovery by the application of both chemical and biological principles to interactions between molecular structure and biological activity.

MedChem @ Carolina

At UNC-Chapel Hill, Medicinal Chemistry is a unique basic science that seamlessly blends the principles and experimental techniques of chemistry and biology with computational science aiding the discovery process. While maintaining a traditional emphasis on the small molecule (drug candidate), we have integrated the contemporary biological methods to merge small molecule and target biomolecule research to allow for elucidation of disease pathways and mechanisms of drug action. Thus, our program encompasses drug discovery, target discovery and validation, and the use computational sciences to help describe and predict drug function. This information serves as the basis for the development of new therapeutic agents.

Since 2003, our program has transformed into a world-wide leader in the emerging areas of chemical biology and academic drug discovery. Importantly, MNCP has added eight new tenure-track faculty members over the past few years. Of particular note, we successfully recruited Bryan Roth (jointly with the Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine) and David Lawrence (jointly with the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology) as full professors. Bryan is the PI for the internationally recognized Psychoactive Drug Screening Program. David’s work is funded by three grants from the National Institutes of Health and focuses on understanding the biochemical processes of the cell. In October 2007, MCNP announced the recruitment of Stephen Frye, former worldwide head of discovery medicinal chemistry at GlaxoSmithKline, who will lead the new Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Spurred in large part by the success of this young cadre, MCNP’s research funding continues to grow: total ongoing funding exceeds $17 Million for multi-year grants, and direct costs for 2007-08 have surpassed $3.5 Million. Highlighting MCNP’s efforts was the receipt of 10 new federal grants to support its research initiatives since 2004. This trend is part of the larger success story of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy, which is ranked #6 nationally in terms of total funding and is ranked among the top 3 overall schools of pharmacy nation-wide by US News & World Report.

Currently, renovation and expansion of the MCNP research space is being completed. Since 2006, MCNP laboratories have expanded by more than 40%, with well over half of that being newly renovated. Beginning in March, 2008, the School will occupy an additional 75,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research space in the newly constructed Genetic Medicine Research Building, and some MCNP groups will move there.

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