2025 SB Symposium Schedule

 June 6, 2025 (Friday)

Charles B. Wang Center Theater

9:00-9:15 AM	Opening Remarks (moderator: Scott Kuduk) Scott Kuduk (Chair, Organizing Committee) Carl Lejuez (Provost, Stony Brook University) David Wrobel (CAS Dean, Stony Brook University) Stanislaus Wong (Chemistry Department Chair, Stony Brook University)
9:15-9:55 AM	Opening Lecture  (moderator: Dr. Songnian Lin) Makoto Fujita (University Distinguished Professor, The
9:55-12:00 PM	Session I (moderator: Scott Kuduk) Steven Rokita*** (Professor, Johns Hopkins University) “The Chemistry and Biology of an Essential Dehalogenase” Thomas Bell*** (Professor, University of Nevada, Rino) “Made at the Brook – CADA compounds: selective ER translocation inhibitors for treatment of many diseases” Peter Tonge*** (Distinguished Professor, Stony Brook University) “Kinetic Selectivity – A Missed Opportunity in Drug Discovery?” Carlos Simmerling*** (Professor, Stony Brook University) “Accurate modeling of biomolecular structure, dynamics and interactions”
12:00-12:55 PM	Lunch
1:00-2:50 PM	Session II (moderator: Songnian Lin) Mikiko Sodeoka*** (Chief Scientist and Center Director, RIKEN, Japan) “Chemical Methods for Imaging and Target Identification” Louis Fensterbank*** (Professor, Sorbonne University, College de France, France) “Photoinduced organometallic catalysis” Hauh-Jyun (Candy) Chen** (Distinguished Professor, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan) “Mass Spectrometry Analysis of DNA and Protein Adducts as Disease Biomarkers” Greta Vachi** (Research Director, IOSP, National Research Council, Bologna, Italy) “Exploring SMYD3 as a Key Epigenetic Regulator in Cancer Chemoresistance”
2:50-3:30 PM	Coffee Break and Poster Session (hybrid)
3:30-5:20 PM	Session III (moderator: Leila Abrous) Songnian Lin*** (Distinguished Scientist and Executive Scientific Director, Merck Research Laboratory) “Engineered Macrocyclic Peptide as a Privileged Modality: Discovery of Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor MK-0616 for Cardiovascular Disease” Scott Kuduk*** (Senior Director, Discovery Chemistry, Janssen Pharmaceutical Co. of Johnson & Johnson) “HBV Capsid Assembly Modulators: From Oxadiazepinones to Intramolecular Ring Opening of Oxetanes” Chih-Yuan Grace Chuang** (Senior Research Fellow, Cytokinetics) “Discovery of Aficamten (CK-274): A novel, small molecule, cardiac myosin inhibitor for the potential treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathies (HCM)” Claude Commandeur** (Team Leader, Medicinal Chemistry, Symeres, TheNetherlands) “Development of Potent Mcl-1 Inhibitors: Structural Investigations on Macrocycles Originating from a DNA-Encoded Chemical Library Screen”
6:15-7:00 PM	Reception (Student Activity Center, Ballroom B)
7:00-9:30 PM	Banquet (Student Activity Center, Ballroom A) Guest speeches After Dinner Talk: Iwao Ojima “Memorable moments in the 4 decades of life at Stony Brook”

June 7, 2025 (Saturday)

Charles B. Wang Center Theater

9:00-10:20 AM	Session IV (moderator: Larisa Kuznetsova) Wen-Hua Chiou* (Professor, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan) “Total synthesis of (±)-lepadiformine A, B, C and (±)-fasicularin: A divergent route through an unexpected double consecutive epimerization” Greta Klejborowska* (Scientific Partnership Manager, Molecule One, Poland) “Designing Brain-Penetrant Ferroptosis Inhibitors: From UAMC-3203 to Novel Oxazole-Based RTAs” Kunal Kumar* (Principle Scientist I, Drug Discovery Institute, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine) “Unlocking Beta-Cell Regeneration: A Promising Therapeutic Approach for Diabetes Treatment” Bruno Chapsal* (Senior Research Scientist, Pfizer Boulder R&D) “Design of Potent Menin-KMT2A Interaction Inhibitors with Improved In Vitro ADME Properties and Reduced hERG Affinity”
10:20-10:30 AM	Break
10:40-12:00 PM	Session V (moderator: Krupanandan Haranahalli) Thierry Brigaurd** (Professor, CY Cergy Paris University, France) “Fluorinated amino acids as tools for the tuning of biophysical and biological properties of peptides” Masakatsu Eguchi* (Research Scientist, University of Washington and BrYet US, Inc.) “Secondary Structure Peptidomimetics in Drug Discovery” Changwei Wang* (Senior Research Fellow, University of Michigan) “Development of EEDi-5273 (APG-5918) & Design and Synthesis of Highly Efficacious Pan-KRAS Degraders Targeting Cancers with KRAS Mutations” Jason Beiger* (Senior Scientist, Global Chemistry, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA) “Twenty-Five Years of Organic Chemistry: From Taxoids to Total Synthesis to Takeda”
12:00-12:30 PM	Blitz Talks (moderator: Greta Varchi) Edward Ng (R&D Research Specialist, EMD Electronics, Merck KGaA) “Directed Self-Assembly in Chips Patterning” Edward Wu (Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry, Myrobalan Therapeutics) “Nature is always whispering, you just need to listen carefully” Krupanandan Haranahalli (Senior Scientist, Gingko Bioworks, Inc.) “The many faces of drug discovery” Ce Shi (Principal Scientist, Chemical Biology, Merck Research Laboratory) “Identification of Inhibition of DPP9 as a Novel Mechanism for Selectively Killing HIV Infected”
12:30-1:30 PM	Lunch and Poster Session
1:30-3:30 PM	Session V (Panel Discussion) Leila Abrous (Coordinator) (Lecturer, California State University San Marcos) “From Industry to Academia” Subrata Chakravarty (CEO, Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers) “From Tumor to Terrain: Expanding the Paradigm of Integrative Oncology” Bibia Heideman (Associate Director, Global Program, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Switzerland) “From Research to Development: Closing the R & D Continuum” Elizabeth Cormier (Subject Matter Expert, Food & Drug Administration) “Protecting and Promoting Public Health: Careers in Regulatory Chemistry” Evelyne Michaud (Director of Digital Engagement and Partnerships, Amgen) “From medicinal chemistry to digital health” Cecilia Fumero Oderda (Senior Clinical Project Manager, Nestlé, Switzerland) “Clinical Project Management: an alternative professional carrier for chemists” Deric Geng (Partner, Intellectual Property Group, WilmerHale) “AI and Inventorship” Larisa Kuznetsova (Director, Product Development, Saptalis Pharmaceutical LLC) “Formulation and Process Development of Pharmaceutical Oral and Topical Liquid and Semisolid Dosage Forms” William Berger (Executive Director, Global Quality Control, Penn Life Sciences Inc.) “Aseptic Filling Strategy with a New Facility Startup” Joseph Kaloko (Director and Head of Chemical Development, Revagenix Inc.) “Experiences within big pharma and biotechs” ”
3:30-4:30 PM	Coffee Break and Poster Session
4:30-5:30 PM	Closing Lecture (moderator: Dr. Scott Kuduk) Iwao Ojima*** (Distinguished Professor, Chemistry; Director, Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery, Stony Brook University) “Quest for Excitement at the Interface of Chemistry, Biology and Medicine”
5:30 PM	Closing Remarks Songnian Lin (Co-Chair, Organizing Committee)
6:30-9:00 PM	Ojima Lab Alumni Reunion Dinner (Location: Hilton Garden Inn Stony Brook)

***Plenary Speaker; **Keynote Speaker; *Invited Speaker

Time allocation: Plenary*** 30 min; Keynote** 25 min; Invited* 20 min (not applicable to Session V (Panel Discussion); Blitz Talk 5 min.