We were grateful to have heard the important research of Dr. Christopher McCurdy, winner of the Duane D. Miller Lectureship, on Monday, June 3rd. McCurdy delivered a lecture titled “Sigma Receptor Ligands from Conception to the Clinic: Illumination of an Enigma.”
Dr. McCurdy is a professor and holds The Frank A. Duckworth Eminent Scholar Chair in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the College of Pharmacy, University of Florida. He is also the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Director of The University of Florida Translational Drug Development Core.
You can find more information about Dr. McCurdy at https://pharmacy.ufl.edu/profile/mccurdy-christopher/.
Kelli Adeleye Awarded the Duane D. Miller Award in Drug Discovery
Kelli Adeleye, a graduate student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the Duane D. Miller Award in Drug Discovery on Monday for her significant research contributions to advancing health as a graduate student at the College.
Adeleye’s research focuses on characterizing the biological activity of novel colchicine-binding site inhibitors. Colchicine-binding site inhibitors target the colchicine-binding site of tubulin, a promising target for antitumor agents due to their ability to disrupt microtubule dynamics and cause mitotic arrest. These inhibitors have shown potent activities in inhibiting cancer cell viability, inducing apoptosis, and overcoming drug resistance in various cancer cell lines. Recently, some of the top compounds have demonstrated significant biological activity in paclitaxel-resistant prostate cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, as well as metastatic breast cancer mouse models.
In August 2023, the Duane D Miller Lectureship endowment was established to support the Duane D Miller Lectureship and graduate student award programs. The UTHSC College of Pharmacy Drug Discovery Center (UTCoP DDC) established “The Duane D. Miller Lectureship” and its related graduate student award “The Duane D. Miller Award in Drug Discovery” in 2023.
Thank You to the Duane D. Miller Lectureship Donors
We are grateful to the following donors for their support of the Duane D. Miller Endowment Fund. Total gifts and pledges are $28,957, as of Jan 10, 2024.
$10,000 or more
Dr. Michael L. Mohler and Dr. Heather A. Pratt
$1,000 – $9,999
Dr. Richard E. Lee, Dr. Wei and Xiaochen Sun Li, Drs. Zongtao Lin and Xian Han, Dr. Bernd W. Meibohm and Ingrid Beierle, Dr. Duane D. Miller and Shirl Taylor-Miller, Dr. Paul T. Motheral, Dr. Ramesh and Priya Narayanan, Dr. Qinghui Wang, Drs. Min Xiao and Jin Wang
$500-$999
Dr. Najah Ghazi Albadari, Dr. Souvik Banerjee, Dr. Santosh Kumar and Namita Sinha, Dr. Keyur Raman Parmar, Dr. Shan Sun, Dr. Zhongzhi Wu and Hui Cheng, Drs. Donghua Yin and Hulping Xu, Dr. Kui Zeng.
$500 or Less
Dr. Karen Anderson, Drs. Vijay Kumar Boda and Himanshi Singh, Dr. John Buolamwini, Dr. Hao Chen and Jingwen Wang, Thomas and Shelia Cooper, Dr. Isaac O. and Veronica Donkor, Dr. Bin Fang, Drs. Neil Hayes and Liza Makowski-Hayes, Dr. Dong-Jin Hwang, Dr. Jianxiong Jiang, Drs. Yan and Jiuyu Lu, Drs. Lawrence M. and Susan Pfeffer, Dr. Tiffany N. Seagroves, Dr. Pengfei Song, Drs. Gabor J. Tigyi and Louisa Balazs, Dr. Pavan Kumar V.N.R. Vaddady, Drs. Xiaoxin Wu and Dr. Shanshan Deng, Dr. Jin Xu, Dr. Murali M. Yallapu and Sujatha Diddi, Dr. Chao-Yie Yang, and Dr. Sicheng Zhang.