Department of Chemistry, 308.865.8356
Dr. Allyn Ontko, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Wyoming, will be discussing the role of chemistry in fighting cancer during a presentation Friday, Nov. 3, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Dr. Ontko’s presentation, titled “Novel Gold (III) polypyridyl complexes and their evaluation as antitumor agents,” will begin at 2:30 p.m. in Bruner Hall of Science Room 402. The talk, which is part of the chemistry research seminar series, is free and open to the public.
“I plan to discuss the rationale behind the development of agents that target cancer,” Dr. Ontko said. “[Such as] some of the initial questions that need to be addressed when developing a new drug.”
Dr. Ontko said he choose the topic of his presentation based on the work that he is currently doing at Wyoming University.
Before accepting his position in the School of Pharmacy at Wyoming University, Dr. Ontko earned his Ph.D. at Iowa State University, did post-doctoral work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served as a fellow at hospitals and clinics associated with the University of Iowa.
According to UNK professor of chemistry Dr. Jon Thompson, the research seminar series was created to complement the chemistry seminar. He said that the seminar “requires students to be exposed to current research efforts in chemistry in an effort to broaden their horizons,” and that is why speakers such as Dr. Ontko are brought to UNK to present their research findings.
The next research seminar in the series will take place Friday, Nov. 10, and will feature Dr. Sruinder Batra, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
