Sherri C Young
Education
- Ph.D., chemistry, Lehigh University
- B.S., chemistry, Albright College
- Master’s, Organizational Leadership, Muhlenberg College
Teaching Interests
Ever since I took organic chemistry as a sophomore in college, I have been passionate about the impact of molecular structure and properties on reactivity and function. I teach organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and polymers because of their broader impact on so many aspects of our everyday lives (plastics, drugs, pesticides, fragrances, flavorings, vaccines, you name it). In all of my courses, I continually emphasize to students the big picture and relevance of the chemistry we are studying, and I integrate my knowledge of drug discovery and organic synthesis into all of my courses to spark student interest.
In addition to teaching organic and medicinal chemistry, I teach courses about the pharmaceutical industry. In these courses, we analyze the nuanced challenges facing the industry from an interdisciplinary lens.
Research and Scholarship
My research interests lie at the interface of chemistry and biology. Broadly, I am interested in improving the pharmacokinetics (PK) and clinical efficacy of known drugs by altering their physicochemical properties. It is a common misconception that drugs only fail because of weak receptor binding or high toxicity. Drugs can also fail to reach the market because of poor PK properties. Hence, there is a large and accessible arsenal of viable drug leads just waiting to be improved upon.
Drugs intended to treat CNS disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) often suffer from low clinical efficacy because they are blocked entrance to the brain by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). My current research focuses on improving the BBB permeability of known drugs by linking them to high-permeability shuttles. My students use solid-phase organic synthesis, a method that involves a reagent or product attached to a polymer bead. This is used to synthesize peptidomimetics, column chromatography for purification and thin layer chromatography, NMR spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry for product characterization. Finally, an in-vitro membrane permeability assay is used to assess the BBB permeability of these novel compounds.
- Biochemistry Independent Study/Research: Synthesis and In Vitro E
- Chemistry Independent Study/Research: Medicinal Chemistry
- Chemistry Internship: Muhlenberg College
- CUE: Chemistry Capstone Seminar
- MUHLES Research Apprenticeship: Medicinal Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry I
- Organic Chemistry I: Research Introduction
- Organic Chemistry II
- Organic Chemistry II: Research in Organic Chemistry
Robert C. Williams Faculty Award, 2018
Publications:
- Young, SC. Incorporating Inter-Lab Collaborations into the Organic Chemistry Teaching Laboratories, J. Chem. Educ., 2021, 98, 2848-2860.
- Eden, BD*; Rice, AJ*; Lovett, TD*; Toner, OM*; Geissler, EP*; Bowman, WE*; Young, SC. Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and In Vitro Stability of N-Benzylamide Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Conjugates for CNS Delivery, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2019, 29, 1487-1491.
- 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. (This article was an invited submission as part of the 25th Anniversary of the Amyloid Hypothesis and Alzheimer’s Disease Special Issue.)
Presentations: - Roter, SF*; Gatazka, M*; Soussan, A*; Gagnon, A*; Shelley, M*; Oko, E*; Brach, T*; Haddad, A-M*; De Jesus, M*; Young, SC. Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Assessment of Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Conjugates for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). In Abstracts of Papers, 269th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, March 23-27; American Chemical Society: San Diego, CA, 2025.
- Roter, S*; Young, SC. Synthesis and In Vitro Testing of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID)-Shuttle Conjugates for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Intercollegiate Student Chemists Convention, Allentown, PA, March 29, 2025.
- Young, SC. Implementation and Assessment of Mentoring Circles: A Group Peer-Mentoring Approach. Professional and Organizational Development Network 49th Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, November 10-14, 2024.
- Young, S; Trump, M*; Shelley, M*; Gatazka, MR*; Brach, A*; Haddad, A-M*; Albdewi, M. Predicted blood-brain barrier permeabilities for carbonate and carbamate-containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug conjugates. In Abstracts of Papers, 265th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, United States, March 26-30, 2023.
- Young, SC. Synthesis and In Vitro Evaluation of Amide-, Carbonate-, and Carbamate-Based Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug Conjugates for Potential CNS Delivery. 6th Binghamton University Research Conference in Chemistry, Binghamton, NY, November 11, 2023.
- Shelley, M*; Trump, M*; Brach, A*; Haddad, A*; Albdewi, M*; Young, SC. Developing Brain-Bioavailable Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Derivatives for CNS Applications. 6th Binghamton University Conference in Undergraduate and Graduate Research in Chemistry, Binghamton, NY, November 11, 2023.
- Young, SC. Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiences that Simulate Real-World Collaborations. In Abstracts of Papers, 259th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition (Virtual), March 22-26; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2020; CHED-0068.
- 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, 256th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, Boston, MA, August 19-23; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2018; ORGN-295.
*Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Contact: sherriyoung@muhlenberg.edu