Faculty and Staff

Education

 Ph.D., Lehigh University

 B.S., Albright College

Teaching Interests
Organic chemistry is at the core of my teaching interests. In all of my courses, I describe the medicinal and biological applications of organic chemistry as well as real-world examples. In addition, I am fascinated by the pharmaceutical industry and the drug discovery and development process; some of my recently developed courses (Medicinal Chemistry and Pharma: A Scientific Approach) cover these topics in detail. I have an interest in further contributing to the integrative learning
curriculum, either in the form of a linked course or a standalone course.

Research Interests
My research interests lie at the interface of chemistry and biology. Central nervous system drug development has been plagued by frequent failures, in part, due to the shortage of biologically active molecules that can enter the brain. My work is focused on improving the ability of known drugs to enter the brain by altering their properties (e.g., polarity). My research students use a variety of organic chemistry techniques to synthesize and purify these new molecules. They also use medicinal chemistry and biochemistry techniques to experimentally and computationally determine the properties of these molecules, including their stabilities under physiological conditions and abilities to enter the brain.

Many of my past and current research students have presented at local, regional, and national meetings. Student-generated data have been used as preliminary data for grant applications, and these data will soon be incorporated into peer-reviewed publications.

Select Publications
Young, SC. * A Systematic Review of Antiamyloidogenic and Metal-Chelating
Peptoids: Two Structural Motifs for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Molecules 2018, 23, 296-310.

Young, SC;* Colabroy, KL; Baar, MR. Comparable Educational Benefits in Half
the Time: An Alternating Organic Chemistry Laboratory Sequence Targeting Pre-
Health Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93, 2004-2011.


Young, SC;* Smith, KT; DeBlasio, JW; Hamann, CS.* Utilizing NMR to Study
Structure and Equilibrium in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory. In NMR
Spectroscopy in the Undergraduate Curriculum: First Year and Organic Chemistry
Courses Volume 2; Soulsby, D; Wallner, T; Anna, L, Eds.; ACS Symposium
Series 1221; American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 2016.

Lacey, CJ; Wohlman, I; Guillon, C.; Saxena, J; Fianu-Velgus, C; Aponte, E;
Young, SC; Heck, DE; Joseph, LB; Laskin, JD; Heindel, ND.* Multi-Inhibitor
Prodrug Constructs for Simultaneous Delivery of Anti-Inflammatory Agents to
Mustard-Induced Skin Injury. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2016, 1378, 174-179.

Smith, KT; Young, SC; DeBlasio, JW; Hamann, CS.* Measuring Structural and
Electronic Effects on Keto-Enol Equilibrium in 1,3-Dicarbonyl Compounds. J.
Chem. Educ. 2016, 93, 790-794.

Saxena, J; Meloni, D; Huang, MT; Heck, D; Laskin, JD; Heindel, ND; Young,
SC.* Ethynylphenyl Carbonates and Carbamates as Dual-Action Inhibitors of
Acetylcholinesterase. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2015, 25, 5609-5612.

Select Oral and Poster Presentations
Rice, A; Eden, B; Bowman, W; Lovett, T; Geissler, E; Young, SC. * Synthesis of
Peptoid- and N-Benzylamide-Based Blood-Brain Barrier Shuttles. In Abstracts of
Papers, 256 th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, Boston,
MA, August 19-23; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2018; ORGN-
295.

Rice, A; * Eden, B; Bowman, W; Lovett, T; Geissler, E; Young, SC. Design and
Synthesis of Anti-Inflammatory Drug Derivatives for Potential CNS Delivery. In
Abstracts of Papers, 256 th American Chemical Society National Meeting &
Exposition, Boston, MA, August 19-23; American Chemical Society:
Washington, DC, 2018; CHED-268.

Young, SC; Rice, A; * Kim, Y; Wiest, A; Bowman, W. * Exploring the utility of
peptidomimetics as blood-brain barrier shuttles. In Abstracts of Papers, 45th
Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Hershey,
PA, June 4-6; American Chemical Society:  Washington, DC, 2017; MARM-359.
Young, SC; * Colin, G. Pharma: Friend or foe? Development, Implementation, and
Assessment of a Cross-Disciplinary Non-Majors Course About the Pharmaceutical
Industry. In Abstracts of Papers, 45 th Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the
American Chemical Society, Hershey, PA, June 4-6; American Chemical Society:
Washington, DC, 2017; MARM-252.

Young, SC; * Staretz-Greenfield, ME; Francis, C; Husic, HD; Heindel, ND;
Bertucci, MA. Development and Evaluation of a Team-Taught Online Course in
Medicinal Chemistry. In Abstracts of Papers, 45 th Middle Atlantic Regional
Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Hershey, PA, June 4-6; American
Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017; MARM-37.

Hamati, J; * Gersz, E; Kim, Y; Young, SC. Design and Synthesis of Metal-
Chelating Peptoids for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. In Abstracts of
Papers, 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, San
Diego, CA, March 13-17; American Chemical Society:  Washington, DC, 2016;
CHED-1157.

Young, SC; * Colabroy, KL; Baar, MR. An Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Sequence Alternating Laboratory Experiments with Guided Inquiry Exercises. In
Abstracts of Papers, 249th American Chemical Society National Meeting &
Exposition, Denver, CO, March 22-26; American Chemical Society:  Washington,
DC, 2015; CHED-169.

*indicates corresponding or presenting author; **Student co-authors are
underlined.