Emma Ellis, a graduate student in the department of medicinal chemistry, has been selected as a trainee in the UF Chemistry-Biology Interface Predoctoral Training Program. Ellis is entering the second year of her graduate studies in the fall of 2023 and is mentored by Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., a professor and chair of medicinal chemistry and the Debbie And Sylvia DeSantis Chair In Natural Products Drug Discovery And Development in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.
Ellis received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Oklahoma Baptist University in Oklahoma during the spring of 2022. She joined Dr. Luesch’s lab at UF’s Medicinal Chemistry Department the following fall to conduct research on drug discovery of specialized metabolites from marine natural products. Her efforts will then include synthesis and biological characterization of the discovered novel compounds to potentially form new pharmaceutics to aid in disease prevention and treatment.
The UF Chemistry-Biology Interface Predoctoral Training Program is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences and aims to provide training and support for the development of the research careers of trainees, as well as to enhance the quality of graduate training broadly at the University of Florida. The activities are designed to train students to recognize and address modern research problems that cut across the traditional boundaries of chemistry and biology. They integrate modern technological advances in experimental approaches, provide professional development skills and career guidance, in a manner consistent with developing an inclusive and supportive training community.