Study Medicinal Chemistry (MSc)

In my master's project I'm synthesizing compounds that might tell us something about the orthosteric binding sites of the GABA receptors. One of the great things about studying here is that you have very close relations with the teachers and supervisors and we collaborate when an idea turns into a bigger project. You're always encouraged to follow and carry out your original ideas. The master's degree in medicine chemistry is focused on the early discovery of new medicine where you synthesize and optimize potential drug molecules and use organic chemistry to understand and manipulate biological processes. The facilities are really good here. I get to do basic organic chemistry and also specialized pharmaceutical research. We can provide our students with access to the newest technologies and methods of research and what is unique about this program is that we have people with different backgrounds working together in a creative and dynamic process to become specialists in medicinal chemistry. So when the students graduate they're very well prepared for career and research. I'm doing my project here at Lundbæk which is a part of the Medicon Valley here in the Copenhagen area and that's really great because I get a chance to get industrial experience already during my studies. The scientists that we are recruiting at Discovery Chemistry at Lundbæk have to be really strong in synthetic organic chemistry. That's the main thing that we're focusing on. Innovation in the drug discovery industry often takes place at the interface between disciplines. That's why we are interested in people from medicinal chemistry. They simply have that background. The good thing about being a Danish student on an international program is you get a broader research experience. When different people with different backgrounds look at the same problem they might see different opportunities. International experience is very important to us. We consciously try and recruit people with an international background. You can say that the medicinal chemist connects biologies to patients via molecules. You have to be both highly qualified and open-minded for teamwork in order to do that. I think I'm very privileged to study a program that gives me the opportunity to work creatively and perform a master project in the pharmaceutical industry. People here are research-minded and curious and that's why it's a great study environment.