KU News Release

KU doctoral student receives national fellowship for cancer research

Micah Niphakis works in the lab.

LAWRENCE — A doctoral student in medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas who is researching plant compounds that kill cancer cells has received a $24,000 fellowship from the Division of Medicinal Chemistry within the American Chemical Society. The fellowship is sponsored by pharmaceutical company Novartis.

Micah Niphakis of Dallastown, Pa., is one of nine doctoral students nationally selected by division officials to receive a 2008-09 Division of Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship.

Niphakis (pronounced ni-FA-kiss) is a student in KU’s School of Pharmacy working in the laboratory of his research adviser and former KU distinguished professor Gunda Georg (GOON-da gay-ORG), who is now chair of medicinal chemistry at the University of Minnesota.

He is researching phenanthropiperidines (fen-AN-throh-PIP-uhr-i-deens), a class of compounds from a perennial climbing plant native to eastern India.

“We know that many members of this class are very good at killing cancer cells, even the cancer cells that have developed resistance to current chemotherapies,” Niphakis said. “Unfortunately, these compounds are currently not ‘drugable.’

“They are poorly soluble and, even worse, they damage the nervous system causing disorientation and loss of coordination. My goal is to design new phenanthropiperidines that are soluble and benign to the nervous system yet can still pack a punch when encountering cancerous growths.”

Niphakis will present his research at the fall 2009 national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

Niphakis has been studying with Georg since coming to KU in 2005 to pursue a doctorate. When Georg moved to the University of Minnesota, Niphakis and other graduate students she is advising moved to her lab in Minnesota but are completing their degrees at KU.

“It is a great honor to receive this fellowship, and I think it is telling of the quality of education that KU offers,” Niphakis said. “I came to KU because I thought it had the best training in medicinal chemistry and I was not disappointed. I am greatly indebted to the medicinal chemistry faculty and particularly Dr. Gunda Georg, my research adviser, who has made all of this research possible.”

Niphakis completed a master’s degree in medicinal chemistry at KU in fall 2007. He received a bachelor’s degree from Houghton College in western New York in 2005. He is the son of Stavros and Holly Niphakis of Dallastown, Pa.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.