On Monday, the 1st of May 2023, Dr. Richie R. Bhandare, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, delivered a research seminar: “Identification of oxazolidinone-based heterocycles as subtype selective sigma-2 ligands”.
The seminar was attended by faculty members of the College of Pharmacy and candidates of the Master of Drug Discovery and Development.
Dr. Richie has a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Mumbai, India. His PhD training was at the School of Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.
Dr. Richie’s talk focused on utilization of privileged heterocyclic scaffolds, using the in-silico tools and performing structure activity relationship studies. These studies investigated binding characteristics of compounds having potential CNS and chemotherapeutic (antimicrobial, antimycobacterial and anticancer) activities via affecting the muscarinic receptors. He explained how his research was then redirected towards the identification of molecules that act on sigma receptors, which yielded very promising results that will soon be further tested in the clinical arena.
The attendees of the seminar engaged in a thought-provoking discussion about how research should be results-driven and how serendipitous findings can have a significant impact on the discovery of new medications.