Youcef Mehellou
Postdoc Rsrch Assoc FSC 2008
The Biodesign Institute, BioEnergetics
My name is Youcef Mehellou and I was born in Guemar, a small town in the south of Algeria, in 1982. After completing my school studies in Algeria I moved to the UK for my university study. Indeed, in 2000, I moved to the UK where I firstly took 9 months of English language at Reading University, after which I went to King's College London (School of Pharmacy) to study for a degree in Pharmacy (MPharm). In July 2005, I graduated from King's College and then I went to Cardiff University for a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry. My PhD project, which was under the supervision of Prof. Chris McGuigan, was on the discovery of novel antiviral (particularly anti-HIV) nucleosides and nucleotides. Upon finishing my PhD in December 2008, I moved to the US (Arizona State University) to join Prof. Sid Hecht's group as a PostDoc, where I am now!
My research interests fall within four sections:
1. The design and synthesis of small molecule RNA-targeting therapeutics.
2. Nucleoside chemistry: the development of new, facile, novel and 'green' methodologies for the synthesis of nucleoside analogues.
3. Total synthesis of natural products with interesting antiviral activities particularly those with novel mechanisms of action.
4. The development of small molecule immunostimulants as antiviral medicines.
Each month, innovative research from the Biodesign Institute appears in the world’s premier scientific journals. Many such studies have graced the covers of these journals, showcasing Biodesign research ranging from water remediation to nanometer-scale structures built from DNA.
Air Toxics and Children’s Asthma: A Mixed Tale of Epidemiologic Evidence
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