RSC Medicinal Chemistry Blog

Editor’s Choice Collection: Sally-Ann Poulsen

10 Nov 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry is delighted to present our Editor’s choice collection

This collection showcases some of the best articles published in the journal, handpicked by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members.

Below we have a selection of recent RSC Medicinal Chemistry articles chosen by Associate Editor Sally-Ann Poulsen (Griffith University, Australia). Take a look at which articles he chose and why.

Sally-Ann’s favourite articles

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00769g.

Property-based optimisation of PROTACs

James S. Scott*, Iacovos N. Michaelides and Markus Schade

RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 449-456

Sally-Ann’s comments:

“In this Opinion article the challenges faced by those working in the PROTAC field is discussed against the backdrop of the promise of this new frontier in drug development. I chose this manuscript as it prompts us to remain open minded about what is possible in the field of medicinal chemistry. As the journals’ readership has committed their careers to advancing medicinal chemistry, I hope the take aways in this Opinion article are relevant to their own research.”

Cytotoxicity of phosphoramidate, bis-amidate and cycloSal prodrug metabolites against tumour and normal cells (Open Access)

Rebecca E. Farrell, Harrison Steele, Ryan J. Middleton, Danielle Skropeta* and Guo-Jun Liu*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 1973-1981

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00115j.

Sally-Ann’s comments:

“This manuscript describes some important aspects in the development of prodrugs including the assessment of potential off-target activity of prodrug metabolites vital in the drug design and biological evaluation process. This study spotlights the close link between classical medicinal chemistry and chemical probe development, where a range of experimental considerations are vital to generate valuable results.”

Graphical abstract for article: d3md00696d.

Structure-based virtual screening of unbiased and RNA-focused libraries to identify new ligands for the HCV IRES model system (Open Access)

Elisabeth Kallert, Laura Almena Rodriguez, Jan-Åke Husmann, Kathrin Blatt and Christian Kersten*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 1527-1538

Sally-Ann’s comments:

“This paper focuses on intentional targeting of RNA for drug discovery and contributes to the development of methods to identify small molecules for binding to RNA. As methods are still largely under development, of interest is the combination of structure-based virtual screening with biophysical screening methods.”

Meet the Editor

Sally-Ann Poulsen, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor

Griffith University, Australia

Sally-Ann Poulsen is at the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. She holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry also from Griffith University, receiving a University Medal for academic excellence.

Immediately following her PhD, she was recipient of a Royal Society & National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Howard Florey Research Fellowship to undertake research at the University of Cambridge. On returning to Australia, she was awarded an Australian Research Council QEII Fellowship, followed by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship.

Sally-Ann works with collaborators in Australia and internationally, both from academia and industry on projects related to the development of new chemical probes for pathogens such as malaria and giardia and the application of native state mass spectrometry to characterise complex biomolecules and their interactions including for contemporary therapeutic modalities such as targeted protein degradation, fragment-based drug discovery and RNA targeting. Her research is defined by the application of chemistry expertise to address complex questions across biology.

She was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) in 2017 and was Chair of the RACI Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Division 2021-2023. She is the author of more than one hundred publications in the field of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology.

We hope you enjoyed reading these articles. Keep an eye out on our collection webpage for more of our Editors’ favourite articles.

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RSC Medicinal Chemistry welcomes new Associate Editor, Professor Christina Chai

25 Sep 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

We are delighted to welcome our new Associate Editor Professor Christina Chai from National University of Singapore to the RSC Medicinal Chemistry Editorial Board! Read on to find out more about Christina and her thoughts about the journal and her new role.

More about Christina

Christina Chai received her BSc (Hons) from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and a PhD in free radical chemistry from the Australian National University (ANU) under the late Professor ALJ Beckwith. This was followed by a Samuel and Violette Glasstone Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford, investigating bioorganic reaction mechanisms. Her academic appointments include Victoria University of Wellington (1991–1993), ANU (1994–2004), and the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore (2005–2011) as Principal Scientist, before joining the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, in 2011.

She was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (2005–2006) and served as Ambassador Scientist for the Foundation in Singapore (2010–2015). She is a member of the FIP Women in Science and Engineering committee, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of ChemMedChem, as well as a previous stint with the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS) editorial advisory board. Her research focuses on small molecules in drug discovery and development, with particular interest on nature-inspired compounds.

Christina’s thoughts on our journal

We asked Christina some questions about working with our journal, read on to see what she thinks.

What are your thoughts about RSC Medicinal Chemistry and the future of the journal?

“MedChemComm was founded in 2010 and relaunched in 2020 as RSC Medicinal Chemistry. The new name reflects a renewed commitment to the medicinal chemistry community. This was a bold move, given the already crowded landscape of journals competing for high-quality submissions. Yet, coming later into the race also presents an opportunity – to shape the journal into what it aspires to be and to distinguish it from its peers. While no one can truly predict the future, the clear will to succeed is evident, and that in itself is promising.”

How do you feel about starting your new role as an Associate Editor for our journal?
“I feel both excited and a little apprehensive. The opportunity to read and evaluate work that has not yet been published – research that represents the very forefront of our field – is a privilege. At the same time, I am mindful of the weight of responsibility that comes with the role. Inevitably, there will be authors disappointed by rejection decisions, and as a principal investigator myself, I deeply understand the frustration and anxiety this can cause.”

As an Associate Editor, what subject areas would you like to see in RSC Medicinal Chemistry?
“I have often wondered whether medicinal chemistry will look the same 20 years from now. Some argue that it belongs primarily in industry, where resources are vast. Yet I believe academia has an equally vital role to play, especially in knowledge creation. Understanding what works – and what doesn’t – in medicinal chemistry remains central to drug discovery and development. Personally, I am most excited by work in emerging areas, where the principles of drug discovery are less mature and may not conform to the traditional ‘rules’ of medicinal chemistry. Such contributions may even open alternate paths for how we discover and develop medicines. Regardless of the subject area, however, it is essential that every piece of work be grounded in rigorous, reproducible data. Anything less would compromise the foundation of science and erode trust in research.”

You can find out more about the rest of our Editorial Board members on our website and submit your article to them today!

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Editor’s Choice Collection: Cynthia Dowd

26 Aug 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry is delighted to introduce our Editor’s choice collection

This collection showcases some of the best articles published in the journal, handpicked by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members.

Below we have a selection of recent RSC Medicinal Chemistry articles chosen by Associate Editor Cynthia Dowd (George Washington University, USA). Take a look at which articles he chose and why.

Cynthia Dowd’s favourite articles

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00202d.

Rational design of small-sized peptidomimetic inhibitors disrupting protein–protein interaction

Junyuan Wang, Ping Zheng, Jianqiang Yu, Xiuyan Yang* and Jian Zhang*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 2212-2225

Cynthia’s comments:

“Disruption of protein-protein interfaces could be seen as the ‘holy grail’ of drug discovery. Indeed, much of biology and biochemistry is mediated through such protein-protein interactions (PPI). In this review, Wang et al. describe the most recent strategies for the design and development of molecules aimed at disrupting PPI. These strategies could be used by the field across a variety of protein partners.”

Replacement of nitro function by free boronic acid in non-steroidal anti-androgens (Open Access)

Petr Šlechta, Roman Viták, Pavel Bárta, Kateřina Koucká, Monika Berková, Diana Žďárová, Andrea Petríková, Jiří Kuneš, Vladimír Kubíček, Martin Doležal, Radek Kučera and Marta Kučerová-Chlupáčová*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 4018-4038

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00343h.

Cynthia’s comments:

“Since the clinical introduction and success of bortezomib, the investigation of boron and boronic acids in medicinal chemistry has increased. The work in this paper expands on the exploration of the boronic acid as an isostere of the nitro group within a set of antiandrogens. The authors investigate not only in vitro activity, but also the toxicity of the resulting molecules, enabling expansion of nitro-group isosterism that might be applicable to other compound classes.”

Graphical abstract for article: d5md00272a.

Small molecule antipathogenic agents against Staphylococcus aureus infections

Paulo Anastácio Furtado Pacheco, Charlotte Uldahl Jansen, Morten Rybtke, Tim Tolker-Nielsen and Katrine Qvortrup*

RSC Med. Chem., 2025, Advance Article

Cynthia’s comments:

“Many anti-infective drug discovery efforts have been focused on inhibition of a function that is essential to the pathogen. In this review, the authors report on work aimed at targeting bacterial virulence factors as a way of controlling the organism. Termed “antipathogenic drugs”, these methods may result in less drug resistance compared with more traditional antibacterial drug discovery.”

Meet the Editor

Photo of RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor, Cynthia Dowd.

Cynthia Dowd, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor

George Washington University, USA

Dr. Cynthia Dowd is a Professor of Chemistry at George Washington University. She obtained a BA in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University. Following a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania, Cindy was an intramural scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There, she led a small molecule chemistry group to discover novel agents against tuberculosis.

In 2007, she began her independent career at GWU where her research is focused on the design and synthesis of novel anti-infective therapies, directed primarily against tuberculosis, malaria and the ESKAPE pathogens.

We hope you enjoyed reading these articles. Keep an eye out on our collection webpage for more of our Editors’ favourite articles.

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Editor’s Choice Collection: Jian Zhang

24 Jul 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry is delighted to introduce our Editor’s choice collection

This collection showcases some of the best articles published in the journal, handpicked by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members.

Below we have a selection of recent RSC Medicinal Chemistry articles chosen by Associate Editor Jian Zhang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China). Take a look at which articles he chose and why.

Jian Zhang’s favourite articles

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00023d.

Rosavin improves insulin resistance and alleviates hepatic and kidney damage via modulating the cGAS-STING pathway and autophagy signaling in HFD/STZ-induced T2DM animals

Hebatallah S. Ali*, Hiba S. Al-Amodi, Shaimaa Hamady, Marian M. S. Roushdy, Amany Helmy Hasanin, Ghada Ellithy, Rasha A. Elmansy, Hagir H. T. Ahmed, Enshrah M. E. Ahmed, Doaa M. A. Elzoghby, Hala F. M. Kamel, Ghida Hassan, Hind A. ELsawi, Laila M. Farid, Mariam B. Abouelkhair, Eman K. Habib, Mohamed Esawie, Heba Fikry, Lobna A. Saleh and Marwa Matboli*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 2098-2113

Jian’s comments:

“This research has found that rosavin can improve insulin resistance and alleviate liver and kidney damage, providing experimental evidence for the application of rosavin in the treatment of diabetes. It provides a direction for the development of new diabetes treatment drugs or strategies and has potential clinical application value.”

Exploiting spirooxindoles for dual DNA targeting/CDK2 inhibition and simultaneous mitigation of oxidative stress towards selective NSCLC therapy; synthesis, evaluation, and molecular modelling studies

Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Refaah M. Al-Jassas, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Majid*, Matti Haukka, Mohamed S. Nafie, Marwa M. Abu-Serie, Mohamed Teleb*, Amira El-Yazbi, Abdul Majeed Abdullah Alayyaf, Assem Barakat* and Marwa M. Shaaban*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024,15, 2937-2958

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00337c.

Jian’s comments:

“Ligand-capped oxindole compounds were designed and studied, which can simultaneously achieve dual DNA targeting, CDK2 inhibition, and reduction of oxidative stress. This provides a multi-targeted treatment strategy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), potentially overcoming the limitations of single-target treatment and improving the therapeutic effect.”

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00438h.

The synthesis and bioactivities of ROCK2 inhibitors with 1,2-dithiolan-3-yl motif

Ruolin Cao, Fangyu Du, Zhiqiang Liu, Pengcheng Cai, Minggang Qi, Wei Xiao*, Xuefei Bao* and Guoliang Chen*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 3576-3596

Jian’s comments:

“This paper designed and studied the macrocyclic oxindole compounds, which could simultaneously achieve dual DNA target design and synthesized a ROCK2 inhibitor with a 1, 2-dithia-cyclopentane-3-yl motif. The introduction of this specific structure may provide new ideas and structural templates for the design of ROCK2 inhibitors and enrich the chemical structure diversity of ROCK2 inhibitors.”

Meet the Editor

Photo of RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor, Jian Zhang.

Jian Zhang, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China

Jian Zhang is a Distinguished Professor and Head of the Medicinal Chemistry & Bioinformatics Center at Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine. In addition, he is also Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Ningxia Medical University, a member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council in China, and founder of Nutshell Therapeutics.

In the last decade, his research has been concerned with drug design, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, especially target identification and first-in-class allosteric drug discovery.

We hope you enjoyed reading these articles. Keep an eye out on our collection webpage for more of our Editors’ favourite articles.

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Editor’s Choice Collection: Sankar Guchhait

19 Jun 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry is delighted to introduce our Editor’s choice collection

This collection showcases some of the best articles published in the journal, handpicked by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members.

Below we have a selection of recent RSC Medicinal Chemistry articles chosen by Associate Editor Sankar Guchhait (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), India). Take a look at which articles he chose and why.

Sankar Guchhait’s favourite articles

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00850b.

Design and synthesis of cyclic lipidated peptides derived from the C-terminus of Cx43 for hemichannel inhibition and cardiac endothelium targeting (Open Access)

Debora Iaculli, Jade Montgomery, Arthur Lamouroux, Anne Caufriez, Rafael Gozalbes, Mathieu Vinken, Filippo Molica, Brenda R. Kwak and Steven Ballet*

RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 1289-1303

Sankar’s comments:

“The article made a highly significant contribution to the field of cardiovascular disease treatment, with selective inhibitor ligands of Connexins Cx43 HC activity. The work is hypothesis-led research and includes a novel approach, C- and N-terminal modification and cyclization of Cx43 region of protein, new peptides with proteolytic stability and bioavailability, high inhibitory capacity, and a cardiac endothelium targeting strategy. It is a scientifically sound work.”

Antimicrobial triazinedione inhibitors of the translocase MraY–protein E interaction site: synergistic effects with bacitracin imply a new mechanism of action (Open Access)

Julia A. Fairbairn, Rachel V. Kerr, Nika-Kare A. Pierre-White, Anthony Jacovides, Becca W. A. Baileeves, Phillip J. Stansfeld, Gerhard Bringmann, Andrew T. Merritt and Timothy D. H. Bugg*

RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 1641-1653

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00937a.

Sankar’s comments:

“The work is scientifically highly impressive, considering its exploration of a new mechanism of action, translocase MraY–protein E interaction inhibition, by antimicrobial triazinedione inhibitors. The article presented a novel antibacterial mechanism and discovery of potent peptidomimetics. The work is useful in the field.”

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00122b.

Novel PROTAC probes targeting KDM3 degradation to eliminate colorectal cancer stem cells through inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling (Open Access)

Shadid U. Zaman, Piyusha P. Pagare, Hongguang Ma, Rosalie G. Hoyle, Yan Zhang* and Jiong Li*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 3746-3758

Sankar’s comments:

“The article presented a high-quality work in the PROTAC field. The work demonstrated the development of PROTACs from the IOX1 skeleton with structure–activity relationship and structure-based design strategy, a favourable profile of isoform-selective degradation of KDM3 to eliminate colorectal CSCs via suppressing oncogenic Wnt signaling, in vivo efficacy, tumor growth inhibition with around 10- to 35-fold increased potency over IOX1, and metabolic profile and no hERG-associated cardiotoxicity. The studies are focused and impressive.”

Meet the Editor

Photo of RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor, Sankar Guchhait.

Sankar Guchhait, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, India

Sankar K. Guchhait is a Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at NIPER, India. He did his PhD research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata. Following his postdoctoral research for four years at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of California, Riverside, he started his research and teaching career at NIPER in 2007.

His research focuses majorly on medicinal chemistry, anticancer drug discovery, and synthesis of natural product-based and pharmaceutically important heterocyclic compounds.

We hope you enjoyed reading these articles. Be sure to check out the rest of our Editor’s choice collection, with new articles added regularly.

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Editor’s Choice Collection: Maria Duca

20 May 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry is delighted to introduce our Editor’s choice collection

This collection showcases some of the best articles published in the journal, handpicked by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members.

Below we have a selection of recent RSC Medicinal Chemistry articles chosen by Associate Editor Maria Duca (Université Côte d’Azur – CNRS, France). Take a look at which articles she chose and why.

Maria Duca’s favourite articles

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00123k.

Live cell screening to identify RNA-binding small molecule inhibitors of the pre-let-7–Lin28 RNA–protein interaction (Open Access)

Sydney L. Rosenblum, Dalia M. Soueid, George Giambasu, Steve Vander Roest, Alexander Pasternak, Erin F. DiMauro, Vladimir Simov* and Amanda L. Garner*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 1539-1546

Maria’s comments:

“This study, belonging to the journal’s Targeting RNA collection, exemplifies an important advance in RNA-targeted drug discovery by harnessing live-cell high-throughput screening to identify small-molecule disruptors of the oncogenic pre-let-7–Lin28 interaction. This highlights the potential of RiPCA approach in modulating RNA-protein interfaces in disease.”

Identification of lysosomotropism using explainable machine learning and morphological profiling cell painting data (Open Access)

Aishvarya Tandon, Anna Santura, Herbert Waldmann*, Axel Pahl* and Paul Czodrowski*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 2677-2691

Graphical abstract for article: d4md00107a.

Maria’s comments:

“This study uses morphological profiling by means of the Cell Painting Assay (CPA) as a reliable surrogate to identify lysosomotropism. It combines Explainable Machine Learning with high-content morphological profiling to describe the physicochemical drivers of lysosomotropism, offering a predictive framework with practical implications for drug discovery and safety assessment.”

Graphical abstract for article: d3md00746d.

1,5-Disubstituted tetrazoles as PD-1/PD-L1 antagonists (Open Access)

Robin van der Straat, Rosalie Draijer, Ewa Surmiak, Roberto Butera, Lennart Land, Katarzyna Magiera-Mularz, Bogdan Musielak, Jacek Plewka, Tad A. Holak and Alexander Dömling*

RSC Med. Chem., 2024, 15, 1210-1215

Maria’s comments:

“This impactful study reports a novel class of 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles as potent small-molecule PD-L1 antagonists, leveraging multicomponent reaction chemistry for rapid scaffold assembly. It opens new avenues in immune checkpoint modulation beyond monoclonal antibodies.”

Meet the Editor

Maria Duca, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Associate Editor

Université Côte d’Azur – CNRS, France

Dr Maria Duca is head of the Targeting of Nucleic Acids research group in the Institute of Chemistry of Nice. She obtained her PhD in Molecular Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr Paola B. Arimondo (National Natural History Museum, Paris) working on topoisomerase II inhibitors. Her post-doctoral training in Sydney Hecht’s lab (University of Virginia, USA) allowed her to pursue the study of nucleic acids working on targeted protein mutagenesis upon chemical modification of tRNAs.

Her research activities at CNRS focus on the targeting of non-coding RNAs using synthetic small molecules toward innovative therapeutic approaches for anticancer, antiviral and antimicrobial applications.

We hope you enjoyed reading these articles. Keep an eye out on our collection webpage for more of our Editors’ favourite articles.

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Winner of the 2025 RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship

30 Jan 2025

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

Congratulations to Professor Michael Bollong, recipient of the 2025 RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

The annual RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to medicinal chemistry and drug discovery in their independent academic career, and is open to candidates who received their PhD within the last 10 years. The RSC Medicinal Chemistry Editorial Board have selected Prof Michael Bollong, from the Scripps Research, USA, as the winner this year. Michael’s research uses high throughput small molecule screens coupled with downstream target identification experiments to identify new drug-like molecules and ligandable targets to study. His group therapeutically targets the biological responses governing mammalian regeneration and cell stress signalling.

When Michael was informed of his nomination, he said:

“I am deeply honoured to be named the recipient of the 2025 RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship. I would principally like to thank my wonderful colleagues at Scripps and Calibr-Skaggs, without whom, the work for which this award was given would not be possible. I hope that by my receiving this award, it brings greater attention to the need in academia and industry alike to focus on the generation of new regenerative medicines for treating age related disease, an area in which we, as medicinal chemists, have a key role in advancing.”

Prof Bollong’s lectureship will be held at a conference later this year, more details to follow. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @rsc_medchem, LinkedIn: Chemical Biology RSCChemBio and sign-up to our news alerts.

More about Michael

Michael J. Bollong, Ph.D., earned his BS in biochemistry and cell biology from University of California, San Diego (2009) and his PhD in chemistry from Scripps Research (2016) under the mentorship of Pete Schultz. He was the inaugural Scripps Fellow (2017), an early independence principal investigator position. In 2020, he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research and is currently the Early Career Endowed Roon Chair for Cardiovascular Research as an Associate Professor. His laboratory uses chemical genetics as a discovery paradigm, focusing on the identification and development of drug-like small molecules with novel biological functions. One key focus of his laboratory has been identifying molecules which promote reparative organ regeneration, a largely unmet challenge in the field of regenerative medicine.

Browse Michael’s recent articles in RSC Chemical Biology:

Metabolically activated proteostasis regulators that protect against erastin-induced ferroptosis (Open Access)

Gabriel M. Kline, Nicole Madrazo, Christian M. Cole, Meera Pannikkat, Michael J. Bollong, Jessica D. Rosarda, Jeffery W. Kelly* and R. Luke Wiseman*

RSC Chem. Biol., 2024, 5, 866-876

A covalent inhibitor of the YAP–TEAD transcriptional complex identified by high-throughput screening (Open Access)

Kayla Nutsch, Lirui Song, Emily Chen, Mitchell Hull, Arnab K. Chatterjee, Jian Jeffery Chen* and Michael J. Bollong*

RSC Chem. Biol., 2023, 4, 894-905

Find out more about Michael and follow his lab’s X here at @MichaelBollong.

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RSC Medicinal Chemistry welcomes new Associate Editor, Dr Susanne Müller-Knapp

21 Oct 2024

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

We are delighted to welcome our new Associate Editor Dr Susanne Müller-Knapp from Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany to the RSC Medicinal Chemistry Editorial Board! Read on to find out more about Susanne and her thoughts about the journal and her new role.

More about Susanne

Susanne Müller-Knapp is Chief Operating Officer at the Structural Genomics Consortium, SGC, Frankfurt and Director of Operations of the Chemical Probes Portal.

She obtained a PhD at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. After spending several years as postdoctoral researcher in the area of inflammation and gene regulation at the Karolinska Institute and at the DIBIT San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, she joined 2004 the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), at Oxford University, where she coordinated the Epigenetic Probe Project and lead a group, focusing on the evaluation of novel chemical probes, cellular target engagement of these tool compounds and their biological roles. Her research now focuses on using chemical biology to dissect the role of specific targets in biology and disease with a main focus on cancer. In her role as Director of Operations for the Chemical Probes Portal, she focuses on providing data and knowledge on high quality chemical tools and establishing quality standards for chemical probes with diverse modes of action.

Susanne’s thoughts on our journal

We asked Susanne some questions about working with our journal, read on to see what she thinks.

What are your thoughts about RSC Medicinal Chemistry and the future of the journal?

“RSC Medicinal Chemistry publishes high-quality articles, adhering to rigorous standards to showcase compelling research in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. The journal takes a forward-thinking approach, offering a variety of engaging themed collections. I especially value its commitment to Open Science, a principle I strongly support.”

How do you feel about starting your new role as an Associate Editor for our journal?

“I am delighted to have been selected as Associate Editor. I am eager to work with the RSC Medicinal Chemistry team and help drive the journal’s ongoing growth and success. Being able to help shaping the future of medicinal chemistry by supporting emerging trends and staying at the forefront of ground breaking research and innovative drug discovery strategies will be both exciting and fulfilling.”

As an Associate Editor, what subject areas would you like to see in RSC Medicinal Chemistry?

“As a biologist by training, I am passionate about enhancing communication between chemists and biologists to promote better annotation and more effective use of small molecules, ultimately improving reproducibility in chemical biology. Bridging this gap is crucial for advancing the field, and I find the prospect of helping to shape high-quality content that enriches both scientific understanding and practical applications incredibly rewarding. This interdisciplinary dialogue has the potential to drive more impactful research and innovation across disciplines.”

You can find out more about the rest of our Editorial Board members on our website and submit your article to them today!

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Winner of the 2024 RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship

13 Mar 2024

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

Congratulations to Professor Luca Laraia, recipient of the 2024 RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship.

The annual RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship recognises a researcher who has made a significant contribution to medicinal chemistry and drug discovery in their independent academic career, and is open to candidates who received their PhD within the last 10 years. The RSC Medicinal Chemistry Editorial Board have selected Prof Laraia, from the the Technical University of Denmark, as the winner this year. Prof Laraia’s research focuses on the chemical biology of sterol-mediated processes, developing small molecule and protein regulators of cholesterol biosynthesis, metabolism and trafficking, with applications in a range of diseases.

“I am delighted to receive the RSC Medicinal Chemistry Emerging Investigator Lectureship. This is a fantastic recognition of the multidisciplinary work that characterises medicinal chemistry, carried out by our talented group members over the last few years. I am excited to continue to carry out and highlight our work on targeting sterol-mediated processes.” – Prof Luca Laraia

Prof Laraia’s lectureship will be held at a conference later this year, more details to follow. To stay up to date with future announcements, follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @rsc_medchem, LinkedIn: Chemical Biology RSCChemBio and sign-up to our news alerts.

More about Luca

Luca Laraia was born in Rome (Italy) and grew up in Vienna (Austria) before moving to London for his MSci degree in chemistry at Imperial College London. He carried out a PhD in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology funded by CRUK at the University of Cambridge, in the labs of Professors David Spring and Ashok Venkitaraman. He then moved to Dortmund as an Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral research fellow to work at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology with Professor Herbert Waldmann, before joining the Department of Chemistry at the Technical University of Denmark as an Assistant Professor. Since April 2021 he is an Associate Professor at the same department, leading a research group at the interface of chemistry and biology, focusing on the development of chemical tools and potential therapeutic leads to study and modulate lipid homeostasis. Luca is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant (2021) and a Hallas Møller Emerging Investigator (2021) from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Check out Luca’s recent publications in Chemical Science and ChemComm:

Identification of non-conventional small molecule degraders and stabilizers of squalene synthase (Open Access)

Joseph G. F. Hoock, Cecilia Rossetti, Mesut Bilgin, Laura Depta, Kasper Enemark-Rasmussen, John C. Christianson and Luca Laraia*

Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 12973-12983

Redshifted and thermally bistable one-way quantitative hemithioindigo-derived photoswitches enabled by isomer-specific excited state intramolecular proton transfer

Mikkel Krell-Jørgensen, Habiburrahman Zulfikri, Magnus Grage Bonnevie, Frederik Simonsen Bro, Asmus Ougaard Dohn and Luca Laraia*

Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 563-566

Find out more about Luca and follow his lab’s X here at @laraialab.

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RSC Medicinal Chemistry welcomes new Associate Editor, Professor Sankar Guchhait

13 Feb 2024

By Emily Cuffin-Munday, Development Editor.

We are delighted to welcome our new Associate Editor Professor Sankar Guchhait from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), India to the RSC Medicinal Chemistry Editorial Board! Read on to find out more about Sankar and his thoughts about the journal and his new role.

More about Sankar

Sankar K. Guchhait is a Professor in Department of Medicinal Chemistry at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, India. He did his PhD research at Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata. Following his postdoctoral research for four years at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of California, Riverside, he started his research and teaching career at NIPER in 2007.

His research focuses majorly on medicinal chemistry, anticancer drug discovery, and synthesis of natural product-based and pharmaceutically important heterocyclic compounds. The research activities in his group made significant contributions to areas, especially medicinal chemistry strategies – Natural product-inspired, Scaffold-hopping, and Choice-based change approaches, Molecular medicinal insights, creating a new from clinical trial agents and drugs, and identification of target-specific unique pharmacophore motifs.

He is recipient of several honors and awards, such as the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Bronze Medal in 2022 and the Indian Chemical Society’s Professor D. Nasipuri Memorial Award in 2015.

Sankar’s thoughts on our journal

We asked Sankar some questions about working with our journal, read on to see what he thinks.

What are your thoughts about RSC Medicinal Chemistry and the future of the journal?

“RSC Medicinal Chemistry publishes quality articles and offers guidance and insight into the wonderful and fascinating diversity of evolving medicinal chemistry strategies and drug discovery research. The journal has the potential to become a leader and worldwide premier resource for medicinal chemistry education and research tools.”

How do you feel about starting your new role as an Associate Editor for our journal?

“In my new role as Associate Editor, I am excited and looking forward to working with the RSC Medicinal Chemistry journal team and contributing to the journal’s increasing growth.”

As an Associate Editor, what subject areas would you like to see in RSC Medicinal Chemistry?

“I would like to see the RSC MedChem journal covering more research articles on molecular medicinal properties insights into drug discovery research, in vitro pharmacodynamics, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties linking with molecular structures, rational design and investigation with analytical thinking, and use of advanced sophisticated instruments in the field.

By publishing articles on these subject areas, the journal would provide valuable research and educational knowledge resources and increasingly attract the chemists and pharmaceutical scientists, especially organic chemists that are interested in medicinal chemistry research.”

You can find out more about the rest of our Editorial Board members on our website and submit your article to them today!

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