Enhancing the Visibility of Women in the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS MEDI)

Abstract

On the occasion of the 2023 International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, we want to celebrate and highlight the contributions of many women volunteers in the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS MEDI).

It has been well documented that the percentage of women among all who participate in professional medicinal chemistry activities is less than 20%; however, since the publication of the wake-up call, “Medicinal Chemistry: Where Are All the Women?” ² in 2017, there has been a significant interest to elevate the presence of many women contributing to this field. In the 2009 editorial celebrating the 100th anniversary of the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS MEDI),¹ Patrick Woster³ highlighted the first woman involved in Division leadership, Barbara Roth,⁴ who served as Secretary in 1975–1976 and as Division Chair in 1977. From 1977 to 2009, three additional women served as Division Chairs, including Jane Aldrich, a current Academic Councilor. In the past several years, we have seen an increase in the number of women stepping up to serve the Division in various positions, with four women being elected as Division Chairs: Wendy Young⁵ (2017), Amanda Bryant-Friedrich (2022), Maria-Jesus Blanco (2023) and future Chair Gunda Georg (2024). Furthermore, under the leadership of Erika Araujo and Lori Ferrins as inaugural chairs, the Young Medicinal Chemistry Committee (YMCC)⁶ was recently created to offer additional opportunities to students and early career scientists. The YMCC has successfully designed a process to elect new chairs, with Margaret E. Olson serving as the 2023 YMCC Chair and Krupanandan Haranahalli as the 2023 YMCC Vice-Chair.

ACS MEDI has taken a proactive approach to significantly increase the representation of women in all committees of the Division, including the Executive Committee (EC) and the Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC). Of critical importance to creating an inclusive community within the Division and profession is providing exposure for women through technical programming at annual conferences. ACS MEDI took bold moves in codifying policy which strongly encourages a minimum of 30% gender diversity among speakers at all technical sessions at the ACS National Meetings. This philosophy also strongly influences the lineup of speakers at other national and international medicinal chemistry meetings sponsored by ACS MEDI. The members of the LRPC, who are national and international leaders in medicinal chemistry, oversee adherence to gender diversity through making this a significant criterion for the selection of sessions for each program.

We have also seen a positive trend with more women in medicinal chemistry being recognized for their achievements. For example, ACS MEDI selects senior investigators with long-standing records of achievement in medicinal chemistry for induction into the MEDI Hall of Fame. In recent years, Ann Weber (2016), Gunda Georg (2017), Emma Parmee (2018), Yvonne Connolly Martin (2018), Margaret A. Brimble (2019), Judy Bolton (2020) and Anabella Villalobos (2021) have been inducted. In 2020, three women were recognized by the receipt of high-profile awards: Donna Huryn received the Portoghese Award, Gunda Georg received the Alfred Burger Award, and Wendy Young received the Earle B. Barnes ACS National Award. In 2022, Amanda Garner received the David W. Robertson Award.

In the following paragraphs, the reader can see the passion and motivation of many of the women who currently volunteer for MEDI. In their own words, a selection of these women offer their perspectives on the opportunity to contribute to excellence in medicinal chemistry through programing, networking, developing their leadership skills, advocating for diversity and being role models for future generations.

“My connection to ACS MEDI began in 2019 when I organized a session at the ACS Fall National Meeting in San Diego entitled Rising Stars: Women in Medicinal Chemistry. This was an amazing opportunity to be able to give up-and-coming stars in the field a platform to share their scientific contributions. Indeed, it was standing room only for this fantastic lineup of female medicinal chemists! Now, as a member of the LRPC, I can continue these efforts, bringing emerging areas of scientific relevance to the forefront, as well as highlighting the diversity of contributors to our field. As an academic, being a part of the MEDI community has also provided a wonderful opportunity to network with folks in the field, particularly, making new connections to researchers in industry that have served as tremendous resources for my graduate students and post docs as they venture into the job market. I am grateful to be able to enhance the visibility of the breadth of medicinal chemistry to the greater chemistry community and hope to inspire our next generation of young scientists to consider a career in medicinal chemistry!” Amanda L. Garner, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC member; Associate Professor and Director, Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan.

“I attended my first ACS meeting as a graduate student where I presented a poster on my research. It was thrilling to interact with so many scientists, to get feedback on my work, and to start to build my network within the community. Since that exciting first meeting I started looked for ways to contribute to the ACS. In addition to presenting my work over the years, I was also able to organize two sessions for MEDI on topics that I was interested in learning more about. I then broadened my scope by serving on the Scientific Organizing Committee for an ACS National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium as well as two ACS MEDI-EFMC Medicinal Chemistry Frontiers meetings, one in Kraków, Poland, and one in Boston, MA. More recently I have served on the LRPC for the MEDI, helping to shape the content of these meetings and ensure the quality of the science discussed remains high. A key goal of mine has also been to increase the focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) within the ACS. This includes sponsoring a session in 2022 on Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Medicinal Chemistry, featuring scientific presentations from chemists representing a breadth of groups followed by a roundtable discussion to consider the continued barriers various groups within our scientific community still face. I have also tried to increase the diversity in the session organizers by encouraging and mentoring underrepresented scientists through the process of organizing a session. Volunteering for the ACS has helped me build and strengthen my network and allowed me to give back to the community that means so much to me!” Carolyn Dzierba, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC member; BMS Senior Scientific Director, Bristol Myers Squibb

“I was curious about learning what was behind the organization for the ACS National Meetings at the beginning. Through membership in the MEDI LRPC, I have been able to meet and work with a group of extremely experienced, friendly, and inspiring leaders in the field of medicinal chemistry. Volunteering for MEDI has expanded my network and vision, opened me to opportunities to promote and advocate great scientists, and been professionally rewarding.” Rong Huang, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC member; Associate Professor, Purdue University

“I am a long-standing member of ACS MEDI. In 2018, I joined the MEDI LRPC as Chair of the First Time Disclosures session, taking on the role from Jake Schwarz of Acelot. After two years in that role, I transitioned the First Time Disclosures Session Chair role to our colleague, Nicole Goodwin of GSK, and I began a new three-year term as a contributing member of the MEDI LRPC. During my time on the LRPC, I have enjoyed the opportunity to bring forward and sponsor many diverse session proposals in collaboration with a variety of colleagues across our medicinal chemistry and drug discovery community. Several of these proposals became integral sessions on the MEDI program, and through these sessions we welcomed a vast array of drug discovery scientists at various career stages to share ground-breaking results, often for the first time in a public forum. Collaboratively bringing opportunities to diverse talent to showcase novel content on the MEDI program stage at our National Meetings has been an honor and a joy. I have also greatly enjoyed assisting Program Chairs by serving on selection committees for MEDI Fellowships and lending a voice to nominations of new MEDI LRPC and Executive Committee (EC) members. Finally, as a woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have been proud to bring a representative voice and perspective to discussions related to diversity, equity and inclusion in this forum. I am grateful to ACS MEDI, the EC and the LRPC for the opportunity to contribute as an integral member and for the enhanced network that I have been privileged to build and to extend to other colleagues across our drug discovery community through this experience.” Erin F. DiMauro, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC member, Session Organizer, and Session Presider; Executive Director of Discovery Chemistry, Merck

“I am currently an Academic Councilor for MEDI, but my involvement with the Division goes back over 20 years to when I first served on the LRPC and then as Chair of the Division (2000). Working with MEDI has given me the opportunity to work with outstanding colleagues from all areas—academia, industry and government—to provide information to our members on cutting-edge drug discovery research, both at National Meetings and through our annual Medicinal Chemistry Reviews. The opportunities I have to interact with my industrial colleagues have especially helped me as an academic to better understand the challenges involved in advancing compounds into clinical trials and hopefully clinical use, important insights that impact my own research and also how I teach the next generation of medicinal chemists. It’s been a real pleasure to serve with such outstanding scientists—and great people—who are passionate about research in medicinal chemistry!” Jane Aldrich, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI EC and Academic Councilor; Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Florida

“I have been passionate about organic/medicinal chemistry and the positive impact this field could have on human disease since I was an undergraduate student. During my schooling, I was given an NIH scholarship to study synthetic organic chemistry and eventually landed my first position at Bristol Myers Squibb in Princeton, NJ, as a medicinal chemist. I joined the ACS as an undergraduate, and some of my first conference experiences were opportunities to present my work and meet fellow chemists at ACS National Meetings. This opened my eyes to the influence and impact this organization has on the advancement of science, careers, mentoring and government policy. I became active in my local ACS section, holding the position of treasurer, among other roles. Over the years, I have given numerous talks, been session chair and nominated sessions at both the local and national levels. I was asked to join the LRPC of ACS MEDI as well as the ACS Pharma Leaders meeting. Eventually, I ran for the Industrial Councilor position of the MEDI and hold that position today. I am also on the Organizing Committee of the 2024 National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, which is sponsored by MEDI. ACS has had a profound impact on the advancement of my career, and volunteering my time is a way to give back for all that I have gained.” Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI EC, Industrial Councilor, and Organizing Committee of the 2024 National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium; CSO, Vilya Therapeutics

“As a long-time ACS meetings attendee, I joined the MEDI LRPC with a passion to provide medicinal chemists with diverse and relevant topics at the national conferences for scientific interest and development. However, during the course of my tenure on MEDI’s planning committee over the past four years, I am now equally if not more driven to ensure that the section has as much diversity in our speakers as we do in our topics. It is essential to be equitable in speaking opportunities, and it is important for us all to be voices and allies in this mission. I really value how this committee holds a high bar and takes this seriously in our event planning meetings.” Nicole C. Goodwin, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC member, Session Organizer and Presider; Director, Medicinal Chemistry, Discovery High-Throughput Chemistry, GSK Senior Fellow, Pharma R&D, GSK, Collegeville, PA

“I have worked with MEDI as part of the leadership of the YMCC for the last five years. Through this work I have become passionate about creating opportunities for early career chemists to engage and participate in the community of practicing drug discoverers. It is our mission to encourage and support young scientists, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, as they take a confident step forward into careers in the sciences.” Erika Araujo, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI EC, YMCC; Principal Research Investigator, Arvinas

“Having been a member of the ACS for 25-plus years, I have enjoyed attending national meetings regularly and having the opportunity to present my work alongside the best medicinal chemists in the world. The quality of work presented by ACS MEDI is always outstanding, vibrant and engaging. As my career has progressed, it has become important to me to give back to this group by volunteering to help out, most recently as a Session Presider last fall. The opportunity to interact with young scientists there really motivated me to assume a role model position, especially to women who are just beginning their careers. I am passionate about being involved in this community so we can continue to highlight, recognize and support everybody pursuing excellent work in this exciting field, and ultimately expedite delivering breakthrough medicines to patients in need.” Shelley Allen, ACS MEDI Session Presider; Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry, Think Bioscience

“I joined the inaugural MEDI YMCC in support of our unified aim to diversify representation in the division based on age, gender, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation to more accurately reflect the worldwide population. Assuming the role of YMCC Chair for 2023–2025, I look forward to continuing our efforts to offer valuable, engaging and career-building programming to create welcoming and inclusive opportunities for budding medicinal chemists.” Margaret E. Olson, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI YMCC Chair; Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Roosevelt University College of Science, Health & Pharmacy, Schaumburg, IL

“My 25 years of involvement with ACS MEDI started during my time as an undergraduate and then graduate student in chemistry, when I recognized the exceptional learnings and networking opportunities available, both locally and in the global context. Following graduate school, my interests led me to study law and to employ my chemistry background as an intellectual property (IP) attorney. During my legal career, first as an IP attorney at a global law firm and now as in-house IP counsel at Bristol Myers Squibb, I have remained passionate about participating in ACS MEDI, including as Session Presider, to continue expanding my knowledge of medicinal chemistry and my friendships with extraordinary scientists. I look forward to continuing my involvement with ACS MEDI for the years to come.” Shana K. Cyr, Ph.D., Esq.; ACS MEDI Session Presider; Senior Corporate Counsel, Innovation Law, Bristol Myers Squibb

“Being a part of the MEDI community has always given me a sense of belonging. Being a member of the YMCC Executive Committee has given me the opportunity to interact with and learn from an incredibly talented and diverse group of scientists. It has helped me build and garner relationships with fellow chemists, whose work I truly admire. Personally, as an international worker in the United States of America, it has given me a platform to voice the woes of fellow international scientists struggling with work visas and bring more awareness to this crisis.” Krupanandan Haranahalli, Ph.D.; Vice-chair, ACS MEDI YMCC; Test Engineer III, Ginkgo Bioworks.

“I have served ACS MEDI for the past six years as Editor-in-Chief of Medicinal Chemistry Reviews (MCR). Prior to taking this role, I was a senior author of the ‘To Market, To Market’ (TMTM) chapter of MCR for five years. I have also served on the LRPC. While my work on these efforts has been mostly a ‘nights and weekends’ commitment, I have no hesitation in saying it has been worth every minute. My personal reward is that I learn an incredible amount, for example by reading and editing every page of MCR. Although I enjoy every aspect of MCR, my favorite remains TMTM with the wealth of information and the fascinating molecules that make it through the rigor of clinical trials and help address medical needs of patients. As a career-long practitioner of drug discovery, there is nothing better than seeing this process in action. Another huge reward is seeing how much people appreciate the effort put into service to the medicinal chemistry community. I enjoy bringing the younger generation of medicinal chemists into the process, both for their learning and for passing the torch. For MCR in particular, I have been focused on adapting to serve changing needs, as well as sustaining an annual volume that is now in its 58th year of production. I appreciate both the sense of history and the remarkable changes that make drug discovery such a rewarding area to work in. Finally, one of the best aspects is being part of our broad and diverse community. I have made so many friends over the years through my service activities with ACS MEDI. Even though we work for different companies or in academia, the shared sense of purpose is a common bond that I very much value.” Joanne Bronson, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI extended EC; BMS Senior Scientific Director, Bristol Myers Squibb

“I am a medicinal chemist and group leader at AbbVie, and currently I volunteer on the LRPC for MEDI. This group of scientists organizes topics and plan for medicinal chemistry programs at the national level of the American Chemical Society. I am proud to be a part of this wonderful group of chemists to highlight cutting-edge science at conferences. Working alongside the planning committee members, some of whom I have professionally admired but never met previously and others I met for the first time, has been one of the highlights for me. It has been inspiring to design symposia with so many passionate, creative and gifted people who also are committed to supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and respect (DEIR).” Tricia L. May-Dracka, Ph.D.; ACS MEDI LRPC Member; Principal Research Scientist II, AbbVie

“I joined the American Chemical Society almost 40 years ago because I felt that I needed to be connected to my scientific community for professional development and networking. After I attended my first ACS National Meeting in 1984, which was held in Philadelphia, I realized the tremendous opportunities that attending ACS meetings offers in terms of learning about cutting-edge science, opportunities to discuss my work with other scientists and networking. After this first meeting, I decided to attend all future ACS National Meetings. My own career as a faculty member was greatly influenced by my affiliations with ACS and MEDI. My first ACS committee service was my ten-year affiliation with the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) of the ACS that started in 1988. Founded in 1927, the WCC serves ‘as a forum for women in chemistry and related professions; to develop recommendations regarding issues of interest to women chemists; to provide a means of increasing and improving participation of women in the chemical sciences and the Society; and promote the recognition of women chemists.’ Over the years, this committee has been instrumental in supporting and increasing the visibility of women chemists within ACS and the larger scientific community. Through the efforts of the WCC, and because of societal changes and ongoing efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion, similar principles have now been adopted widely by the entire ACS, including MEDI. My committee affiliation with MEDI began after I was promoted to Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas. James Bristol, who also was the long-term editor of MEDI’s Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry and who is known to have promoted the career of women chemists in his own organization, appointed me to the MEDI LRPC in 1992. This was a wonderful experience for me, and I was able to propose and help organize scientific symposia. It also provided a venue for scientific exchange about current issues in medicinal chemistry research and networking opportunities with many colleagues from industry and academia that I would not have had otherwise. Subsequently I served on various MEDI committees, including canvassing and award selection committees. In 2000, my former University of Kansas colleague, the late Dr. Gary Grunewald and I co-organized the 27th National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium in Kansas City, which was not only a great experience for me also but also a very successful MEDI event. Then, also in 2000, Philip Portoghese, the then Editor-in-Chief (EIC), appointed me to the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, which perhaps foreshadowed that I would one day follow in his footsteps in the role as Co-EIC, together with Dr. Shaomeng Wang from the University of Michigan. Many of those that I met over the years during my affiliations with ACS and MEDI are not only professional colleagues but also have become friends. While Co-EIC I served as liaison to the MEDI EC, and I am now returning to the MEDI EC (2023–2025) after being elected Chair for the Division. In collaboration with the other EC members and the LRPC, I will be a driving force to maintain and enhance programming excellence, provide outstanding service to all our members and assure diversity, equity, and inclusion in all MEDI activities to strengthen our research community.” Gunda I. Georg, Ph.D.; 2023 ACS MEDI LRPC Chair, ACS Fellow, AAAS Fellow, Past Co-EIC for J. Med. Chem., member of the MEDI Hall of Fame and winner of the 2020 Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry; Regents Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, and Director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota

“As Immediate Past Chair of ACS MEDI, I believe that we are now at a pivotal point in the expansion of the impact of medicinal chemistry on global health. Women must play a major role in this effort. As a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School Dean and global advocate for women and those historically marginalized in STEM disciplines, I am in a position to see daily the talent, passion and intellect of those who exist on the margins of our profession. Without more directed efforts towards creating inclusive and equitable environments for these individuals in our academic departments, corporate boardrooms, government agencies and laboratories in all sectors of global drug discovery and development, we will not meet the pharmaceutical needs of the future. My involvement with MEDI as well as the ACS Division of Chemical Toxicology has always been for the purpose of contributing to and staying informed about advances in these connected fields and providing access to information for those whom I train, mentor and support so that I can help them open doors to enhance the impact of global drug discovery and disease treatment.” Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, Ph.D.; Immediate Past Chair, ACS MEDI; Dean, Graduate School and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.

It is important to highlight the progress in gender diversity within MEDI. As many of these scientists suggested, MEDI is a community that offers opportunities and opens doors to connect with other medicinal chemists and share a common passion for medicinal chemistry. We are aware of the importance of continuing to advocate for women in medicinal chemistry, and we are dedicated to further strengthening that commitment. With this editorial, we want to encourage other women in medicinal chemistry to join and volunteer with MEDI.

Glossary

Abbreviations

ACS

American Chemical Society

EC

Executive Committee

LRPC

Long Range Planning Committee

MEDI

ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry

YMCC

Young Medicinal Chemistry Committee

Views expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the ACS.

Notes

This joint editorial is simultaneously published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.