Doctoral graduate Imdadul Khan contributes to discoveries and new knowledge.
Doctoral graduate Imdadul Khan is unable to trace his initial interest in pharmacy back to any particular pre-college influence, but as he graduates from the University of Mississippi, he knows exactly where he wants the profession to take him.
Born and raised in Bangladesh, Khan always had a keen interest in science. In high school, biology was one of his favorite classes. After graduation, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and a master’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Dhaka.
While working toward his master’s, his research surrounding natural product isolation made him realize the importance of natural compounds as a source of medicine. An intense interest in medicinal chemistry was born.
“I wanted to know all about how to change molecules in order to design a better drug,” Khan said.
When he began his search for a doctoral program in which to study medicinal chemistry, he said his focus naturally turned to the United States due to its status as a leader in drug discovery. The UM School of Pharmacy appealed to him both for its rank among the top programs in the country and its Southern location and warmer climate relatively similar to that of his home.
It also did not hurt that a friend praised Oxford’s fun, bustling downtown scene. He spoke with Hoang Le, UM assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and Khan’s future academic adviser, and felt strongly that Le would be a valuable mentor.
A conversation with Robert Doerksen, UM graduate school associate dean and medicinal chemistry professor, further inspired him to pursue entry into the program.
In the spring of 2018, Khan arrived at Ole Miss and officially began the journey to his doctorate in the pharmacy school’s Department of Biomolecular Sciences.
“It is exciting that Imdadul was able to qualify for admission to our competitive Ph.D. program, gain a thorough knowledge of many aspects of biomolecular science and make his own unique discoveries of new knowledge,” Doerksen said.
His work has focused on potential therapeutics for various diseases, including cancer, HIV neurotoxicity and malaria.
In his time in the program, Khan has made his mark and been recognized for his hard work. He received the ACS Graduate Research Scholar Award, the Thomas L. Lemke Outstanding Poster Presentation Award and been named a 2023 class marshal.
He credits the influence and expertise of many faculty members for his success in the program, particularly praising the support of Le, Doerksen and professors Jason Paris and John Rimoldi.
“In terms of seeing the program or my research from a different perspective or looking at the bigger picture to help me set up future goals, Dr. Rimoldi helped me a lot,” Khan said. “Really, all of the teachers I had are awesome.”
Since January, Khan has been a postdoctoral scholar at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, as well as a visiting researcher at Cleveland Clinic.
“I have a passion for research,” he said. “I want to continue to do research, so maybe I’ll become an independent principal investigator at some institution, whether it’s a research institution or university. I definitely see myself as an independent principal investigator.”
By Natalie Ehrhardt, School of Pharmacy
