Scientific Advisors
Dr. Niels H. Andersen is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington. His work focuses on the fundamental thermodynamics and structural features associated with biorecognition and practical applications of drug design. He has developed a substantial body of work around structural identification of bioactive compounds isolated from natural sources and, more recently, synthesis and design of drug candidates based on SAR in a lead series and NMR structure based design. Dr. Andersen is an expert at using multi-dimensional proton, carbon and fluorine NMR for structure and stereochemistry determination, and the use of circular dichroism to determine absolute stereochemistry.
Dr. Julian A. Simon is an Assistant Professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he is an expert in anti-cancer drug screening. A chemist by training, Dr. Simon has developed a research program around drug screening involving both synthetic chemistry and genetic screening. He has strong interest and breadth of knowledge in natural products as sources for anti-cancer drug development as well as extensive knowledge of classes of chemical compounds that can potentially be useful for drug development. He is very knowledgeable about extraction processes of natural product sources as well as the development of relevant biological paradigms in which to test molecules from natural product sources.
Dr. George M. Martin is an active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Washington and former long time director of the University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. As such, his career spans the modern investigation of Alzheimer's disease. His knowledge and contacts in the field are invaluable. His current research interests lie in the application of genetic concepts and methodologies to the elucidation of the pathobiology of aging in man, other mammals, and birds. These studies also address genetic mechanisms underlying the unusual resistance of certain avian species to oxidative damage.