Dr. James R Fuchs, Associate Professor, Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacogosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University (OSU)
Core Leader – Core B
Dr. Fuchs was trained as a synthetic chemist with expertise in the synthesis of small molecules for the treatment of various diseases. His primary area of interest includes the design and modification of bioactive lead molecules for therapeutic applications. As a graduate student (1998-2005; Penn State University) and postdoctoral fellow (2005-2007; Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, CA) his research involved the synthesis of five polycyclic natural products and the introduction of deep-seated structural changes to the core ring system of the natural product vindoline, respectively. Since becoming an independent investigator on appointment to the faculty at OSU in 2007, his research in the area of drug design and discovery has focused on the synthesis and structural modification of both natural products and synthetic leads primarily in the field of cancer research. In all of the projects in which his laboratory is involved, synthesis is employed in order to generate material for biological studies, study structure-activity relationships (SAR), improve upon the pharmacological properties of potential therapeutics, and develop probes for mechanism of action studies. Dr. Fuchs has been working as a part of this program project research effort for more than eight years, initially being co-opted into Project 1 and then serving as the Core Leader for Core B during the current funding period (2014-2019). During this time, he has built strong collaborations with the Project Leaders from Projects 1 (Dr. Kinghorn), 2 (Dr. Orjala), and 3 (Dr. Oberlies) and also with Dr. Burdette in Core 1. These collaborative efforts have led to a number of joint publications and the development of exciting and diverse classes of lead compounds including the phyllanthusmins, scytonemide A, and the verticillins. Dr. Fuchs and Dr. Mitch Phelps (co-Core Leader for Pharmacokinetics; Professor, College of Pharmacy, OSU), work closely together to consider the potential for molecules to be developed in this Core.