PhD Award award from the GDCh Division of Medicinal Chemistry

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The PhD Award award was presented to Dr. Verena Kunig, Dr. Johannes Morstein and Dr. Patrick Zanon on March 14, 2022 at the Online Conference "Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry 2022". awarded.

to dr Kunig in appreciation of her dissertation on the subject: "DNA-encoded substance libraries: chemical stabilization of DNA, development of new synthesis methods and identification of TEAD-YAP inhibitors". Miss Dr. In her work, Kunig succeeds in significantly expanding the methodological arsenal for DNA-encoded molecule libraries. The possibilities of library design are significantly expanded by the developed synthesis methods based on multi-component reactions. In addition, the contributions to the development of chemically stabilized coding strategies enable application for a wide variety of synthesis methods. With the discovery of new TEAD-YAP inhibitors, the work also underscores the potential of DNA-encoded molecule libraries in drug discovery. The dissertation was written in the working group of Prof. Dr. Andreas Brunschweiger at the Technical University of Dortmund.

to dr Morstein in appreciation of his dissertation on the subject: "Optical Control of Lipid Signaling".
Dr. Morstein successfully introduces light-switchable functional groups into lipids that are involved in various signaling processes, thus opening up completely new possibilities for the control of certain signaling pathways by light. The potential of these new tools was directly used in the outstanding work to study signaling processes. The work thus contributes significantly to expanding the possibilities for the targeted control of biological functions using chemical tools. The dissertation was written in the working group of Prof. Dr. Dirk Trauner graduated from New York University.

to dr Zanon in appreciation of his dissertation entitled: "Development of methods and covalent ligands for the chemoproteomic exploration of the ligandability of bacterial proteomes". In the outstanding work, selective chemical probes are developed to probe the addressability of nine different amino acids and used to characterize their reactivity towards electrophiles in the bacterial proteome. This work thus illustrates the potential of new chemical methods in drug research and opens up new possibilities for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases. The dissertation was written in the working group of Prof. Dr. Stephan Hacker at the Technical University of Munich.

The Online PhD Award Conference was presented to Dr. Edith Bartole, Dr. Benedict Heinrich and Dr. Dasha Nelidova awarded.

to dr Bartole in appreciation of her dissertation entitled: "Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Molecular Tools for the Histamine H3 and H4 Receptors - In Particular Radio- and Fluorescent Ligands". Miss Dr. Bartole managed to develop and apply two complementary tools for the study of histamine H4 receptors. Their fluorescent ligand and their high-affinity radioligand enable localization of the hH4 receptor in living cells and, for the first time, comparative binding studies to h/m/rH4 receptors and to NanoLuc-tagged receptors (h/mH4R and hH3R). With her results and her tools, Dr. Bartole significantly enriched the research field of H4 receptors. The dissertation was written in the working group of Prof. Dr. Armin Buschauer at the University of Regensburg and after his death by Prof. Dr. Günther Bernhardt continues to be looked after.

to dr Heinrich in appreciation of his dissertation on "Chemical Biology Applications of Photoresponsive DNA-Binding Agents". The outstanding work describes chemical alternatives to the well-known Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) which, with the new 6 TramTO 3 molecule, make it possible to observe living, multi-resistant bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, among other things. This work illustrates the innovative power of new chemical methods and tools in the border area of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology and their direct applicability for a better understanding of infectious diseases. The dissertation was written in the working group of Jun.-Prof. dr Olalla Vázquez at the Philipps University in Marburg.

to dr Nelidova in appreciation of her dissertation on the subject: "Restoring light sensitivity using tunable near-infrared sensors". The work combines nanotechnology and genetic engineering in an innovative approach. Through the conjugation of gold nanoparticles to antibodies binding the TRP channel, light from the NIR range can be converted into signals of the TRP channel. These signals enable mice to perceive corresponding light signals. The work thus opens up a possible path to new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of macular degeneration. The dissertation was written in the working group of Prof. Dr. Botond Roska at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research and at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology in Basel.