Combinatorial Chemistry - High Throughput and Chemical Biology

This year we will hold the first Gordon Research Seminar for our conference the weekend prior to the GRC, June 6-7. This year's vice chair is Dr. Michael Foley, of the Broad Institute, and the two co-chairs for the GRS are Dr. Alan Rolfe and Thiwanka B. Samarakoon, both students in the chemistry department at the University of Kansas. Combinatorial chemistry is a dynamic, rapidly evolving field and has different meaning to various scientists. The combinatorial chemistry community has contributed significantly towards the evolution of the drug discovery process with the major emphasis in the field evolving towards methods to accelerate lead generation / lead optimization, focused parallel synthesis, high throughput technology, and chemical biology. This year's program will feature cutting edge talks bridging the disciplines of organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology applied towards high speed synthesis, parallel chemistry approaches, rapid generation of structure activity relationships to accelerate drug discovery, and the discovery of small molecule probes to discover and elucidate molecular pathways. Feedback based on reports of monitors and attendee self-evaluation has given this meeting an excellent rating. A review of the 2008 program will give you an idea of the range of topics typically covered. Participants are encouraged to present posters. 2008 poster winners; Benjamin L. Miller, University of Rochester; Marco Schmidt, Leibniz-Institute for Molecular-Pharmacology Berlin; and Ann Kelly; Broad Institute, will be presenting talks this year.