Published on May 15, 2015  

Dr. Andy Lampkins recently received a Cottrell College Science Award, which is a two-year $42,220 research grant from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, for his work in the fields of drug discovery and synthetic organic chemistry. 

The research this grant will fund involves the design and synthesis of novel drug therapies to combat Alzheimer's disease. With no current cure, this debilitating disease is becoming increasingly prevalent, and is already among the most expensive burdens the United States health care system must bear. Dr. Lampkins and his research team (including Samford University students, faculty, and additional collaborators outside of SU) have developed amino acid-based lactone scaffolds specifically designed to penetrate the central nervous system and thwart a key enzyme involved in the neurotoxic amyloid cascade leading to Alzheimer's disease.
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.