Alex Nielsen worked with Dr. McNulty in the department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology during the summer of 2012. His work focused on the synthesis of novel inhibitors of Cyp19 (aromatase). Aromatase is the enzyme responsible for synthesizing estrogens.  As such, it is a valuable target for estrogen dependent breast cancer. Current inhibitors suffer from a lack of specificity for Cyp19 and cause adverse drug-drug interactions in the body. The project he wored on focused on identifying both specific and potent aromatase inhibitors, which would help avoid the negative side effects of current treatments for estrogen dependent breast cancer.

                           

As a first-year iSci student going into biochemistry, Lori Minassian wanted to get some experience in a biochemistry lab during the summer of 2012. She inquired at hospitals in Toronto and found a research position at the lab of Dr. Roman Melnyk at the Hospital for Sick Children.

                           

During the summer of 2012, Adam Pantaleo worked in Dr. Emslie's lab in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at McMaster. Dr. Emslie's lab is primarily focused on organometallic synthesis, reactivity, and ligand design. Adam was interested in synthesizing new metal-ligand complexes, thoroughly characterizing these compounds, and studying their reactivity both theoretically and experimentally. The compounds he studied are extremely air-sensitive and require us to use advanced techniques and equipment, including glove boxes and vacuum lines.

                           

For the summer of 2011 Alex Nielsen returned 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 involved 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.