We are pleased to announce that Center for Drug Design member, Professor Zhengqiang Wang, has won the 1st Place Poster Award in the category of "Young Investigator" at the 21st International Conference on Antiviral Research in Montreal, Canada. In addition, he was selected to give an oral "shotgun" presentation to the conference attendees because of this award. The title of the poster and talk was "From RT Inhibitors to RT/IN Dual Inhibitors: A Rational Design".

CDD Director Robert Vince has been selected as a 2007 inductee into the American Chemical Society's Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame, which recognizes "an overall outstanding contribution to medicinal chemistry through a combination of research, teaching and service".

The University of Minnesota Center for Drug Design has been awarded a $2.5 million, 5-year grant by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to research antidotes for cyanide poisoning. The study, Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats: Countermeasures Against Cyanide, will be led by Profs Herbert Nagasawa, Robert Vince, and Steve Patterson. The Center for Drug Design has already developed a series of antidotes that can convert cyanide into a non-toxic substance through the use of a cellular enzyme.

The University of Minnesota unveiled the Wall of Discovery, featuring images of key intellectual developments by University faculty and alumni. The work of CDD founder Robert Vince and his research associate, Mei Hua, is one of the displays on the wall. Vince and Hua worked on the chemical synthesis of carbovir, the first compound in a series of chemicals that led to the discovery of abacavir, now sold as the AIDS treatment Ziagen® by Glaxo SmithKline under a licensing agreement with the University.

Dr. Steven Patterson, in conjunction with Dr. Daniel Billadeau of the Mayo Clinic, was awarded a Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics grant. The two year grant included $786,000 in direct costs. The title of their project: Combinatorial Based Chemistry and High Throughput Screening Methods to Identify Rac GTPase Inhibitors.

The Center for Drug Design held a grand opening celebration and symposium on May 17, 2005. Dr. Robert Vince, Director and founder of the Center, gave the opening address. Dr. Frank Cerra, Senior VP of the Academic Health Center, and Regent Lakeesha Ransom welcomed all the visiting scientists and members of the public.

Dr. Krzysztof W. Pankiewicz of the Center for Drug Design has received a grant from the Department of Defense, funding his research on treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia by developing inhibitors specific for Type II IMP Dehydrogenase (IMPDH).

The International Society of Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Nucleic Acids (IS3NA) held its XVI International Roundtable meeting in Minneapolis.

Professor Robert Vince was selected by the White House to meet with President George W. Bush during the President's visit to Minnesota. Dr. Vince explained to the President how his research group designed a drug, carbovir, now marketed as ZiagenTM, for the treatment of AIDS. He also informed President Bush that the University royalties are supporting the newly established Center for Drug Design. The President was pleased to see how research funds can be used to discover new therapies which benefit the public.

The Center for Drug Design was conceived by professor Robert Vince. With the guiding principle of uniting efficient, high-level research with the design and development of highly effective drugs, he obtained the approval of Senior Vice President, Frank Cerra, MD, and the Council of Deans (Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota) for its creation. On January 8, 2002, the Center for Drug Design was established as a center of excellence in drug design and research.