This summer Alex Nielsen is returning to his intern position at AstraZeneca R&D Boston in the Cancer Chemistry Department, a position he attained last summer after his first year of Integrated Science.

Alex’s work involves performing small molecule synthesis, purification and analysis to create compounds geared to a specific protein target in oncology. The synthesis of these compounds is a multi-step process that often uses several novel synthetic steps.

The modeling tools that were introduced to second year Integrated Science students in the Drug Discovery project are directly related to Alex’s work. The experience he gained evaluating protein-ligand interactions with PyMOL has been very beneficial as he uses these skills when examining the interactions between the compound he synthesizes and the compound’s target substrate.

Through his intern position, Alex is contributing to an important research topic. The development of compounds effective at treating cancer is one of the most researched areas in science. Alex enjoys his work at AstraZeneca R&D and is seriously considering pharmaceutical research as a possible career path.