Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal chemistry refers to the preparation of biologically active compounds, the study of their potency, and the understanding of their mechanism of action at the molecular level through the construction of structure-activity relationships. There are multiple compelling reasons for the creation of this new major, which include 1) an increasing number of job opportunities for medicinal chemists at the undergraduate level, 2) the growing demand for students to obtain discipline specific training at the undergraduate level, and 3) the recognition in academic and research communities of the importance of medicinal chemistry as a critical and thriving interdisciplinary field. We firmly believe that creation of the Medicinal Chemistry major will meet employer and student demand as well as solidify Virginia Tech as the destination for medicinal chemistry.