Our team

Our laboratory is a unique training environment for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, professional pharmacy students, and undergraduate students. Previous members of our group have received prestigious, nationally competitive fellowships and awards, and they have taken jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, the chemical industry, and academia. Our group has alumni working as drug discovery scientists, chemical researchers, professors, medical science liaisons, clinical pharmacists, nuclear pharmacists, physicians, and regulatory affairs specialists.

If you are interested in our research, scientific discoveries, or want to join us, you have come to the right place!

Meshal A. Alghamdi

Graduate Student
Pharm.D. Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
Division of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Mississippi
maalgham@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Medicinal chemistry, synthetic and computational chemistry, clinical pharmacy

Amena Begum

Graduate Student
M.Sc. University of Dhaka
Division of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Mississippi
abegum@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Synthesis of natural products, fluorine chemistry, drug design and methods development

Anna Benthall

Undergraduate Student
Biochemistry major
University of Mississippi
abbentha@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Biochemistry and medicine

Dan Mi Huynh

Graduate Student
B.S. University of Mississippi
Division of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Mississippi
dmhuynh@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Medicinal chemistry

Baharul Islam

Graduate Student
M.Pharm. University of Development Alternative
Division of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Mississippi
bislam@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Drug discovery, method development, fluorine chemistry, and medicinal chemistry

Stacy Truong

Pharmacy Student
School of Pharmacy
University of Mississippi
svtruong@go.olemiss.edu

Interests: Pharmacy, research, and medicinal chemistry

Alumni

Graduate Students

Amna T. Adam, B.S. Montclair State University, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Mississippi, 2020, Recent position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University with Professor Merdad Shamloo, School of Medicine | Recent position: Senior Scientist, Biomea Fusion, Palo Alto, CA

Reem A. Alkhodier, B.S. King Saud University, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Mississippi, 2022 | Recent position: Assistant Professor, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Maali D. Alshammari, B.S. King Saud University, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Mississippi, 2022 | Recent position: Assistant Professor, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia

Francis J. Barrios, B.S. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, Purdue University, 2013 | Recent position: Assistant Professor, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY

Changho Han, B.S. Sogang University, Seoul, Korea, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, 2013, Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University with Professor Craig W. Lindsey, Department of Pharmacology | Recent position: Drug Discovery Scientist, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Robert A. Hazlitt, B.S. Baylor College, Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, Purdue University, 2016, Postdoctoral Fellow, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN | Recent position: Medicinal Chemist, Loxo Oncology, Inc., Boulder, CO

Mark V. Riofski, B.S. University of Iowa, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, 2013, Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University with Professor Harold H. Kung, Department of Chemical Engineering | Recent position: Senior Product Development Chemist, 3M, St. Paul, MN

Munia F. Sowaileh, M.Sc. Jordan Univdersity of Science and Technology, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Mississippi, 2018, Postdoctoral Fellow, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN | Recent position: Medicinal Chemist, Loxo Oncology, Inc., Boulder, CO

James R. Woods, B.S. Michigan State University, Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, 2014, Postdoctoral Fellow, Rice University with Professor K. C. Nicolaou, Department of Chemistry | Recent position: Research Scientist, ImmunoGen, Inc., Waltham, MA

Postdoctoral Fellows

Jinu Philip John, Ph.D. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks with Professor Alexei Novikov, Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University, 2010–2012 | Recent position: Plant Chemist, DSM, Lafayette, IN

Mantasha Idrisi, Ph.D. Aligarh Muslim University with Professor Mohammad Shahid, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Mississippi, 2021 | Recent position: Postdoctoral Fellow, National Center for Natural Products Research, University, MS

Hari R. Khatri, Ph.D. Purdue University with Professor Alex Wei, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Mississippi, 2016–2018 | Recent position: Senior Scientist, Universal Display Company, New Castle, DE

Eun Hoo Kim, Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University with Professor Anthony Pearson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University, 2010–2012 | Recent position: Assistant Professor, Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC

Alex L. Nguyen, Ph.D. Louisiana State University with Professor Graca Vicente, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Mississippi, 2016–2017 | Recent position: Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University, Alexandria, LA

Thanh-Thanh Claire Tran, Ph.D. University of Mississippi with Professor Ikhlas Khan, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Mississippi, 2020 | Recent position: Operations Specialist, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Social Circle, GA