Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., the Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Natural Products Drug Discovery and Development in the UF College of Pharmacy, was one of two faculty named as the UF Foundation 2014 Preeminence Term Professors.
Now in its second year, the University of Florida Foundation’s Preeminence Term Professorship program supports UF’s Preeminence goals. Each fall, the Foundation awards two $25,000 term professorships to faculty members with substantial research programs and outstanding records of accomplishment. Term professorships reflect UF’s commitment to invest in faculty members whose work is transforming lives. The awards enable recipients to extend their work through additional funding. Faculty members who receive the Preeminence Term Professorships are chosen from UF’s top faculty members, nominated by their deans.
Director of the Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development (CNPD3), Luesch’s research focus is on unique marine natural products to fully exploit the biosynthetic and therapeutic potential of untapped biodiversity for drug discovery. His multidisciplinary research program, at the interface of chemistry and biology, combines classical natural products chemistry with high-throughput screening, chemical genomics and medicinal chemistry to identify, characterize and optimize novel drug candidates for various diseases, especially cancer.