35th Annual Lewis Lecture: The Science Behind Chantix featuring Jotham Coe, Ph.D.
Saint Joseph College's Department of Chemistry presents the 35th Annual Lewis Lecture:
Jotham Coe, Ph.D.
Discovery Medicinal Chemist in the Neuroscience Department of
Pfizer Global Research and Development will present:
“Nicotine Meets Its Match? The Science Behind Chantix TM ”
Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m.
The 35th Annual Lewis Lecture, sponsored by the Department of Chemistry, will feature Dr. Jotham Coe, who will discuss “The Science Behind ChantixTM,” a prescription medicine to help adults age 18 and over stop smoking. The Lewis Lecture was established in memory of Dr. Eugene Lewis, a distinguished Chemistry professor at Saint Joseph College who was ahead of his time in connecting Chemistry to everyday life. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Crystal Room located in Mercy Hall on Saint Joseph College’s West Hartford campus. Admission is free of charge and the event is open to the community. For more information, contact Peter Markow, Ph.D., professor of Chemistry, at 860.231.5240 or pmarkow@sjc.edu .
Research Fellow Jotham Coe is a discovery medicinal chemist in the Neuroscience Department of Pfizer Global Research and Development in Groton, CT, where he works on approaches for the treatment of depression, schizophrenia, ADHD and addiction. It was through trial and error, persistence, and countless hours in the lab that led to the discovery of Chantix. Dr. Coe’s research team formed a hypothesis, set project goals, used intelligent design and molecular modification, and employed much hard work. Working with the project team, Dr. Coe discovered varenicline in 1997, the active ingredient in Chantix. Nine years later, he saw the fruits of his labor – Chantix was approved by the FDA and launched in 2006. For his efforts in developing Chantix, Dr. Coe received the Pfizer Global R & D Achievement Award, The Award for Scientific Excellence in Chemistry and the W.E. Upjohn Award for Innovation.
Prior to joining Neuroscience, Dr. Coe worked for six years in the Oncology discovery area of Pfizer, studying potential treatments for mutational changes in cancer etiology, hormone regulation of cancer growth, and multidrug resistance to chemotherapy. A 1981 graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Coe earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988.
