Chemistry is in the spotlight this March with the celebration of the 24th Annual R. Bryan Miller Symposium. The event, scheduled for March 14 and 15, features a lineup of lectures from prestigious scientists working at the cutting-edge of chemistry, its subdisciplines and related fields. Registration for the event, which is free, is now open. 

But the R. Bryan Miller Symposium isn’t just for established researchers. It’s a chance for UC Davis students to showcase their own research while networking with others in their field. 

“The students will have an opportunity to interact with world-renowned scientists from academia and industry and share their research with the speakers and the attendees through lightning talks and poster sessions,” said Shota Atsumi, a professor of chemistry and chair of the symposium’s organizing committee.

This year’s plenary speakers include opening remarks from Michael Jung, distinguished professor of organic chemistry at UCLA; and closing remarks from Margaret Brimble, distinguished professor and director of medicinal chemistry at the University of Auckland. 

Jung’s research concerns developing new synthetic chemistry methods that enable the invention of anticancer drugs. He’s the co-inventor of Xtandi, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for both non-metastatic and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. His most recent research targets fast-growing and aggressive brain tumors.

Brimble’s research focuses on the synthesis of molecules that have properties beneficial to humans. Such molecules play a pivotal role in developing biomaterials, vaccines and drugs. In the course of this work, she discovered the drug trofinetide, which was recently approved for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that occurs almost exclusively in girls. 

“The symposium provides an opportunity for students to learn widely as the speakers are invited from a variety of research fields including organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biophysics, chemical biology and biochemistry,” Atsumi said.

In addition to lectures from academia and industry, students will have the opportunity to present research posters during the Miller Symposium. The poster session is open to undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral scholars. Student presenters will have the opportunity to win either the Francesca Miller Undergraduate Research Award, the R. Bryan Miller Summer Graduate Fellowship or the R.B. Miller Research, Service, and Mentorship Award. 

Distinguished Speakers

• Rachel Haurwitz, chief executive officer of Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
• Nicholas Meanwell, vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Daniel Starczynowski, co-chief scientific officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
• Lindsey Ingerman James, assistant professor of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry at University of North Carolina
• Paul Wender, Francis W. Bergstrom Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford University
• Dylan Murray, assistant professor of chemistry at UC Davis
• Mike Di Maso (Ph.D., organic chemistry, ’16), a UC Davis alumnus and associate principal scientist at Merck.  

Sponsors of this year’s event include Cytokinetics, Beam Therapeutics, SK pharmteco, Agilent, Gilead and Bristol Myers Squibb. Additional support comes from the R. Bryan Miller Endowment Fund and the UC Davis Graduate Student Association.

• Register to Attend 
• Full List of Presenters
• Poster Session Information