The Aldrich Research Group
Principal Investigator
Dr. Courtney C. Aldrich is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Director of the high-throughput screening (HTS) core within The Institute of Therapeutics Discovery and Development (ITDD), and a graduate faculty member of several interdisciplinary programs across the University. He has mentored more than 50 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars since beginning his independent lab in 2005 and all have gone onto productive careers in industry (Beckman-Coulter, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Promega, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Nektar Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaron, Sai Life Sciences, UCB Pharma, Encapsula Nanosciences, Novartis, Patheon, Loxo Oncology at Lilly) and academia (University of Texas at Arlington, Stetson University, Soochow University, Central China Normal University, Gitam University). Outside of lab, Dr. Aldrich enjoys biking, studying German and Japanese, and maintaining his 900 L saltwater aquarium with corals and pufferfish.Courtney Aldrich, Ph.D
Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and College of Pharmacy Director of High Throughput Screen, Institute of Therapeutics Discovery & Development Founding Editor in Chief, American Chemical Society Infectious Diseases
Postdoctoral Fellows
Marzena Brinkmann, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Lab Manager
Subhankar Panda, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Subhankar is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Aldrich's lab. Subhankar received Ph.D. in chemistry from IIT Guwahati (Assam, India) in 2018. He is currently working on the discovery of novel antibiotics targeting the inhibition of siderophores biosynthesis in Mtb. Outside of the lab, Subhankar enjoys playing and watching football as well as spending time in nature photography.
Sachin Sharma, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Kateryna Kostenkova, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Kate is a postdoctoral researcher in the Aldrich lab. Kate received her B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Biology from Whitworth University (Spokane, WA) in 2018, and her PhD in Inorganic and Organic Chemistry from Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) in 2023. She is currently working on the synthesis of rifamycin analogs. Outside of research, Kate enjoys rock climbing, running, cooking and bread making.
Graduate Students
Tsung-Yun (Kent) Wong
PhD Student
Kent is a 6th year graduate student in the Aldrich Lab. He received a master's degree in pharmaceutical science from National Taiwan University in 2016. He is currently working on synthesizing Zinc metallophore of Mtb, BioA inhibitors, and SECRA2 modulators. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing video games such as SMITE.
Nathan Dillman
PhD Student
Nathan Dillman is a second-year graduate student pursuing his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry in the Aldrich Lab. He received his Bachelor's of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of South Carolina in 2023. Currently, Nathan is working on the development of different Rifamycin derivatives with the goal of developing better treatments for various mycobacteria-related infections. Outside of the lab, he is an avid reader and snowboarder.
Moyosore Orimoloye
PhD Student
Moyosore is a 6th year PhD Candidate in the Aldrich Lab. He received his Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria in 2016. He is currently working on the synthesis of Mycobacterial Siderophores and analogs thereof. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing and watching football, reading, and writing.
Sang Vo
MD-PhD Student
Sang is a 4th year graduate student in the Medical Scientist Training Program and a 2nd year graduate student in the Medicinal Chemistry Ph.D program. He is interested in the Chemical Biology research field with a focus in drug discovery. Prior to arriving at the University of Minnesota, Sang earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Boston in 2020. He is currently working on synthesizing pyrazinamide analogs and evaluating them in vitro. He enjoys reading non-fiction literature, watching college football, and is a white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Jake Schmitt
PhD Student
Jake is a first-year Ph.D. student in Medicinal Chemistry in the Aldrich Lab. He earned a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a B.A. in German from The Ohio State University. His current research focuses on the synthesis of novel Rifamycin derivatives with deep-seated structural modifications to address the growing challenge of multi-drug-resistant mycobacteria.
Outside the lab, Jake enjoys exploring mixology and is an avid college football enthusiast.
Past Members
Graduate Students
Kathryn M. Nelson
Carter Eiden
Joseph Buonomo
Matthew Bockman
Evan Alexander
John Schultz
Scott Brody
Pooja Hegde
Malcolm Cole
Peng Ge
Tian Lan
Lucy Evans
POSTDOC AND VISITING SCHOLARS
Surendra Dawadi
Ce Shi
William D. Fiers
Zheng Liu
Feng Liu
Neeraj K Mishra
Kaja Berg
Jian-Hua Liang
Tej Narayan Poudel
Gorakhnath Jachak
Qiang Liu
Undergraduate
Mitchell Fuller
Kathleen Wang
Travis A. Hammerstad
Joseph Ahenkorah
Eric Hess
Will Piatt
Katherine Wetmore (Scope 2024 Scholar) - Mentor: Dr. Kateryna Kostenkova