DRUGS for THE BRAIN from THE BRAIN

Robin Polt, Ph.D. is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. Dr. Polt earned his BS from Indiana University-Purdue Universitity Indianapolis in 1981 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1986. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Polt has research interests in the following areas: organic and biological chemistry, bioorganic and natural products, synthesis and synthetic methodiology, organometalilic and coordination chemistry and pharmacology and toxicology.

New synthetic methodology developed in the “Polt Group” is focused on the use of metal-ligand interactions to direct C-C and C-O bond formations starting from amino acids, such as L-alanine and D-serine. These new methods are being applied to the synthesis of highly-functionalized natural products such as castanospermine which functions as a glycosidase inhibitor, or to unnatural substrate analogues designed to inhibit glycoprotein processing enzymes (glycosyltransferases). Dr. Polt’s laboratory has collaborated with Dr. Bilsky’s laboratory at the University of New England testing these novel compounds for their therapeutic effects on acute and chronic pain states.

Over his 25 years as a chemist Dr. Polt has many peer reviewed publications, book reviews, and numerous book chapters published. 

Hosted by: Edward Bilsky, Ph.D.