Thomas Steitz, the Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 will join 30 other renowned scientists for an international conference hosted by the University of Rhode Island September 28-30th. Steitz’s talk is titled “From the Structure and Function of the Ribosome to New Antibiotics.”
The Conference is the last in a series of programs held this month to commemorate the opening of a new $75 million College of Pharmacy building and will focus on the latest in bench drug discovery (natural products, medicinal chemistry and biologics) and drug development stages (delivery, nanotechnology, toxicology, clinical pharmacology, drug metabolism, transporters and pharmacokinetics).
Other keynote speakers will be: Chad A. Mirkin, professor of materials science and engineering and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University; Tej P. Singh, professor of biophysics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences; Jhillu Singh Yadav, director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology; and Christopher Walsh, the Hamilton Kuhn Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. In addition, leading researchers from Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom will all speak.
“We anticipate a lively three days with some of the top biomedical scientists in the world,” said conference co-organizer, Keykavous Parang, URI professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. “We want the scientific community to know there is still time to register and be a participant in this first-of-its kind program at URI. Come meet other scientists, listen to talks about the latest developments in biomedical research and relax in our beautiful surroundings.”
Conference co-organizer Navindra Seeram, URI assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences and director of the Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory, said he believes this will be the largest conference of its kind in the history of the University.
“The Northeast Corridor of the United States is the center of pharmaceutical science research and industry, and so this is an ideal location for a program of this type,” Seeram said. “The participation of some of the world’s leading biomedical scientists, including Yale’s Professor Steitz, is an indication of the high regard they have for research going on at URI’s College of Pharmacy and, indeed, the ongoing scientific work of many of our colleges.”
Click here for registration and full details about the conference.