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Dr. Milton Brown, PhD, MD

Georgetown University Medical Center, Richard von Matsch Endowed Chair of Experimental Therapies

Dr. Milton Brown is a medicinal chemist who specializes in the design, synthesis and evaluation of new drugs.  Dr. Brown is recognized as one of the top translational drug discovery scientists in the US today.

Dr. Brown obtained his PhD in synthetic chemistry from the University of Alabama at Birmingham under Dr. Wayne Broyillette in 1995.  He went on to obtain a medicinal degree at the University of Virginia in 1999 before securing a postdoctoral position in the chemistry department at the University of Virginia.  In 2000 Dr. Brown became an assistant professor in the same department where he began his independent research.  Brown was tenured at Virginia in 2003 and promoted to the position of associate professor.  Dr. Brown’s unique training positioned him to combine the tools of chemistry and medicine to solve important clinical problems.  During his time at the University of Virginia, Brown published over 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals and had 16 patent applications.  He also received numerous grants including funding from the National Institutes of Health to investigate new drugs that could be used to combat epilepsy and prostate cancer.  Brown tested over 450 drugs to treat epilepsy; several of these drugs are now undergoing clinical trials.  Dr. Brown’s pioneering work had led to him being dubbed “Dr. Drug Discovery.”

In 2006 Dr. Brown moved to the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University where he serves as a principle investigator and director of the Drug Discovery Program.  In 2008, Georgetown University appointed Dr. Brown as the Edwin H. Richard and Elisabeth Richard von Matsch endowed chair in experimental therapeutics, in recognition of his numerous scientific achievements.  Brown has given more than 50 invited lectures in the US and Europe on drug discovery and development.

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Dr. Oluyomi Okunola

University of Maryland Chemistry Ph.D. Candidate

Yomi Okunola is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, completing her work in the lab of Dr. Jeffery Davis. She is a person with an interesting story and an example to emulate. Born and raised in Nigeria, Yomi always strove for excellence but did not immediately know she would become a chemist. She began her studies in Nigeria with interest to become a physician or pharmacist, though there was a glimmer of interest in chemistry from high school. While pursuing her bachelors degree Yomi grew to love chemistry and with hard work she became very good at it and decided to go on the path to obtain her Ph.D. in chemistry.

In 2002, Yomi moved to the United States and began her graduate studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. After earning her Masters degree from Howard, Yomi enrolled into the chemistry Ph.D. program at UMD. A leader in the Davis group, Yomi primarily focused on ion channels across membranes as her interest of study.

Here at the University of Maryland, Yomi has accomplished many things including awards, attending conferences, and publishing. Yomi has most recently attended the 2008 NIH Graduate Student Research Festival where she participated in a poster presentation. She was also a recipient of the Mabel Spencer Fellowship for the 2008-2009 school year.

Yomi has also given back to the community and inspires undergraduates and grad students alike through her participation in NOBCChE. Yomi is a former Vice-president of NOBCChE and was kind enough to be the special speaker at the October 2008 general body meeting. Her message gave her background as well as advice for undergraduates and grad students in the chemistry department. She advised students to take particular care in choosing a research advisor, to set reasonably high goals, and to make their degrees their main focus. By taking her advice it is highly probable that our future scientists can become as successful on their journeys as Yomi has on her own.

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Dr. Victor McCrary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dr. McCrary is the Business Area Executive for Science and Technology at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he is responsible for the management and business planning for science & technology internal strategic investments for long-term research & development. Dr. McCrary also sits on the Advisory Board of The Center for Nanotechnology Characterization Research at Howard University which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Prior to joining APL, Dr. McCrary was the Chief of the Convergent Information Systems Division at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) where he led programs in biometrics, digital preservation, DVD reliability and standards, Digital TV Standards and quantum communications.

From 1985 to 1995, Dr. McCrary was a member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, where he conducted research efforts in crystal growth for semiconductor lasers used in undersea telecommunication cables. Through his career, Dr. McCrary has been awarded The Department of Commerce’s “Gold Medal.” Science Spectrum Magazine gave him their 2004 Emerald Honors for “Career Achievement in Academia”.  He received the 2002 Percy Julian Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science and Engineering.  Dr. McCrary was recently listed as one of Ebony Magazine’s “150 Most Influential Black Americans.”

Dr. McCrary was our NOBCChE chapter’s annual seminar series speaker in 2008, giving a talk entitled “An Overview of Research at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.”