Jennifer E. Golden, assistant professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division and Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry Center, was selected to deliver a podium talk at the 2017 Medicinal Chemistry Gordon Research Conference held August 6-11 in New London, N.H.

The theme for the 2017 Conference, “Highlighting Innovations and Technologies: First Disclosures of Programs and Approaches for Therapeutic Discovery” featured talks on the cutting edge of the discipline that included new innovations, technologies and compounds that advance the science, and sessions highlighting late-breaking results on important clinical candidates across therapeutic areas. The Conference also includes a week long poster session to which most of the participants must scientifically contribute in order to be admitted. The caliber of science, degree of translational/clinical success in projects that are discussed, and the high level of pharmaceutical industry representation creates a competitive process by which oral presentations are chosen; however, Golden, invited as one of 70 other poster presenters, was selected as one of three individuals to deliver a short presentation based on her poster’s scientific merit and in-person presentation at the conference.

Golden’s poster entitled, “Development of Novel Transformations and Structural Templates to Combat Encephalitic Alphaviruses,” highlighted recent, novel milestones reached by her lab in chemistry and medicinal chemistry development of first-in-class alphavirus inhibitors. Alphaviruses, RNA viruses spread most commonly by infected mosquitoes, can cause significant disease in humans ranging from fever, rash, persistent arthritis, encephalitis and death. Though several of these agents are classified as bioterrorism threats, there are no FDA approved vaccines or drugs available for any alphavirus infection. The Golden laboratory has developed several compound classes that show efficacy against select alphaviruses in cells and in mice.

Golden joined the School of Pharmacy in 2015. Her research focus includes synthetic methodology development, medicinal chemistry and drug discovery with an emphasis on designing and developing novel compounds as anticancer and anti-infective agents. Golden currently teaches courses in Medicinal Chemistry I and Natural Product Synthesis, Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery.