omobolanle Janet JESUMOROTI

I am a  research fellow that conducts medicinal chemistry research that uncovers new opportunities to impact human health with over five years of research experience. Knowledgeable in the synthesis of active bio-organic molecules, NMR, Chromatography, Flow Chemistry, and Natural product Chemistry.

I have over five years of work experience in research institutes. I have a very good background in Organic and medicinal chemistry with an MSc in Organic Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. I completed my Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry) from Rhodes University, South Africa in December 2016 under the supervision of Prof. Rosalyn Klein. I had my first postdoctoral training at Nelson Mandela University South Africa under the supervision of Prof. Paul Watts where I carried out Organic synthesis in the micro-reactor for new process development of active pharmaceutical ingredients of anti-retroviral drugs using continuous flow chemistry. Presently I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, North-West University Potchefstroom, South Africa, where I continue my research on the rational design and synthesis of organic molecules as potential drug substrates against infectious diseases. Much of current research is focused on the development of heterocyclic-7-azaindole, 7-deazapurine, and quinolone compounds to generate novel leads in anti-TB and anti-cancer chemotherapy, as well as the identification of new compounds active against ESKAPE pathogens. Other areas of interest include the synthesis of compounds with anti-trypanosomal potentials. 

 I completed my Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry) from Rhodes University, South Africa in December 2016 under the supervision of Prof. Rosalyn KleinMy Ph.D. thesis titled “synthesis and biological evaluation of anti-HIV-1 integrase agents” has involved the design, synthesis, and evaluation of anti-HIV-1 analogs with the potential to act as inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase – an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Various libraries of cinnamate esters, novel coumarin-based compounds, and selected heterocycles were designed computationally based on structural analogs found in the literature. An in silico receptor-flexible ligand docking procedure has been used to identify potential inhibitors via exploration of their binding modes into the ‘active site’ of 1QS4 (enzyme). My interest in medicinal chemistry has been elaborated having discovered a library of small unnatural heterocyclic compounds that can be used as HIV integrase inhibitors. More interesting was the discovery of two bioactive scaffolds more active than the standard chicoric acid, which showed excellent activity against HIV integrase at 20 μM concentrations which makes them a new promising anti –HIV agent. Further work is in progress at the Biotechnology Innovation Department at Rhodes University to optimize the observed biological activity and establish the molecular mechanism of action of these small drug-like molecules. My Ph.D. research has generated collaborative publication of an article in a top-tier academic journal