Researching Pyran-Based Anticancer Natural Products

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 13 Jul 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Thomas E. Smith, associate professor of chemistry at Williams College, has been awarded a $217,710 three-year grant by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institute of Health (NIH) for "Asymmetric Methods for the Synthesis of Pyran-Based Anticancer Natural Products."

"This research is concerned with the development of new methods that will allow for the efficient preparation of anticancer compounds," said Smith. He and his team will examine several natural products of promising medicinal value to formulate an efficient general strategy for the asymmetric synthesis of these types of complex molecular architectures.

The molecules that will be examined are acutphycin, which inhibits the growth of malignant cells; tedanolide C, which exhibits potent cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines; and other novel natural products of marine origin.

This study will build on Smith's earlier work on pyran-based products, which was funded by a 2003 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. Chiral pyran-based ring systems (six-membered rings composed of carbon and oxygen atoms) are found in numerous biologically relevant natural product classes.

At Williams since 1998, Smith teaches courses on the evolution and operation of human medicines, synthetic organic chemistry, and introductory organic chemistry. His research is concerned with organic synthesis and its applications in biology and pharmacology.

Smith's findings on organic synthesis appear in a number of chemistry journals and academic publications, most recently the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organic Letters, and the Journal of Chemical Education.

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Smith received his B.A. from Williams College in 1988 and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1996. He was an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund, and Pfizer, Inc.

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

To visit the college on the Internet: http://www.williams.edu/

Source: Jo Procter
Williams College

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