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Medicinal Chemistry

Available as a concentration

Medicinal Chemistry will help you develop an in-depth understanding of how drugs are developed -— the creative science behind taking an idea to a successful therapeutic molecule.

As a medicinal chemistry student, you'll have opportunities to learn in the lab and firsthand in pharmaceutical companies. Connections between professors, alumni and the industry help place you in summer internships in pharmaceutical companies — experience giving you a critical leg up in grad school or job applications. Roanoke students gain a distinct advantage of experiences usually reserved for graduate-level students.

Curriculum & Courses

Sample Course Offerings

CHEM 221: Organic Chemistry I 
CHEM 340: Pharmaceutical Chemistry 
CHEM 350: Instrumental Analysis 

Student looking into a beaker

Learn by Doing

Hands-on learning

Students working on a chemistry lab
Students with their professor during a lab
Student working on a laptop during a lab
Student smiling in a lab
Student working on a lab
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Student working on a chemistry lab
Professor creating fire
Dr. Johann's office door
Three students working on a lab

Careers & Outcomes

Kristen Clare: Pharmaceutical regulatory strategist

Kristen Clare '10, a biochemistry major, found her passion for medicinal chemistry at Roanoke, where she worked as a student research assistant and presented her findings on the active site of the enzyme 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase at the Mid-Atlantic Conference for Undergraduate Scholarship in 2008. She also co-authored a paper, "Investigations of Amino Acids in the ATP Binding Site of 5,10-Methenyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase", in The Protein Journal. She followed this up with an undergraduate internship in the Biochemical Discovery Biology Department at Merck.

After Roanoke, Kristen received an MS in Biopharmaceutical Regulatory Science from Northeastern University and tackled a graduate internship in worldwide regulatory strategy at Pfizer. She held positions at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Oncology. Currently, she is a regulatory affairs director at Alkermes, responsible for developing and executing strategies to support early CNS development programs and marketed products. 

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News

  • Workshop: Communicating Your Research in a Nutshell

    This interactive workshop, the first of a two-part event, is intended to train researchers to better communicate their work with people outside of their field. Folks from all programs are encouraged to attend!

    Date:
    March 27, 2026
    Time:
    4 - 6 p.m.
    Location:

    Antrim Chapel

    Workshop: Communicating Your Research in a Nutshellevent image

  • Nutshell Games Competition

    Engaged in research? Consider competing in this year's Nutshell Games Competition for a chance to win an Amazon e-gift card.

    Date:
    April 21, 2026
    Time:
    6 - 7:30 p.m.
    Location:

    Antrim Chapel

    Nutshell Games Competitionevent image

Interested in studying medicinal chemistry at Roanoke College?

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