Summer 2008

Beyond basic science and math

This fall, two College departments are exploring new fields with doctorates in medicinal biochemistry and computational mathematics.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry's new doctoral program in medicinal biochemistry is off to a fast start.

Eight students have enrolled in the program, and two students pursuing master's degrees in the department have announced plans to transfer to the PhD program in the coming year. The program offers its first classes this fall.

The department expected only five or six students to begin the program this year and enrollment to grow to 30-40 students during the next several years. These doctoral candidates join about 30 master's students in the department.

“We're unique in that medicinal biochemistry is being taught in a chemistry and biochemistry department with a strong emphasis on the chemistry of drug design and action,” said Dr. Greg Raner, an associate professor and the department's director of graduate studies.

Students and faculty have shown considerable enthusiasm for the program at recruiting events held at regional and national meetings of the American Chemical Society, Raner said. The international pool of applicants has been exceptional, he said, especially considering the UNC system only granted final approval to the program in January.

Students in the PhD program will develop expertise in the biochemistry of drug design and function, and will specialize in one of three disciplines: computational chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry or drug synthesis.

The goal is to prepare students for careers in biochemical research and leadership roles in North Carolina's rapidly growing biotechnology industry. In addition to spurring economic development, it will strengthen faculty research at UNCG. “A PhD program provides faculty members with the opportunity to train students, and those faculty members then benefit from 2-3 years of labor from a trained researcher,” Raner said.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has 14 faculty members — 11 with research interests in biochemistry and eight with experience in medicinal chemistry or the biochemistry of drug action. Two more faculty positions will be added in the next few years.

The department, which moved into a new building in 2003, has won major research and instrumentation grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Also on tap this fall: a new PhD program in computational mathematics.

UNCG is the first school in North Carolina to offer a stand-alone PhD in computational mathematics. The program will provide students with an understanding of computational methods and technologies that can be applied to solving fundamental as well as real-world problems. The doctorate will prepare graduates to serve as leaders in mathematical research in education, academia, industry and government.

To learn more about the doctorates, visit the departments' web sites at www.uncg.edu/che/ and www.uncg.edu/mat/.