Florida State University associate professor Joel M. Smith has received the Eli Lilly and Co. Grantee Award, an international recognition for his contributions to biomedical and organic synthesis research. Smith is the first recipient of this award from FSU.
The award includes $150,000 in funding to support further research in the Smith Laboratory, which focuses on developing new methods for synthesizing complex molecules. These efforts are intended to advance the creation of small-molecule drugs targeting neurological disorders such as migraines, severe depression, and Parkinson’s disease.
“I feel an immense sense of gratitude, not only to Lilly but also to my family, the FSU community, and the students and postdoctoral researchers who have driven the lab’s discoveries,” Smith said. “This award is significant because it recognizes the importance of the lab’s work, as well as the department and university’s forward momentum toward greater scientific achievement.”
Eli Lilly and Co., based in Indianapolis, has been a major pharmaceutical company for 150 years. The company introduced Prozac in 1988 as the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used widely for depression and anxiety treatment. It currently produces medications such as Mounjaro and Zepbound for diabetes and weight loss. Since 1965, Lilly Grantee Awards have supported emerging leaders in organic chemistry; recipients are selected by company scientists without applications or nominations.
Wei Yang, chair of FSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, commented on Smith’s recognition: “Dr. Smith is an innovative synthetic organic chemist — or in layman’s terms, a molecule maker,” Yang said. “From the shining list of Lilly Grantee Award winners, which includes Nobel Prize winners and prominent figures in chemistry, it’s clear that the department has successfully built up its strength in synthetic organic chemistry.”
Smith explained how many pharmaceuticals originate from natural products found in organisms like plants or fungi. He noted that while morphine and naloxone both come from opium poppies despite different uses, ergotamine—a migraine medication—originates from a fungus affecting cereal grains.
“Much like using Legos, we strive to find the most concise way to assemble naturally occurring molecules, which often inspires the invention of brand-new chemical reactions in an effort to realize the full potential of each substance,” Smith said. “Ultimately, most drug molecules, whether inspired by a natural product or not, require chemical synthesis to explore their biological efficacy. In essence, you often can’t evaluate a molecule’s pharmaceutical or medical potential if you haven’t made it in the laboratory.”
Smith plans to use part of his award funding for exploratory research that could lead to collaborations with other academic institutions or industry partners.
“Organic chemists are the ‘infantry’ that serve on the front lines of research and development, tackling the science of molecular assembly and design that will result in the medicines of the future,” Smith said. “Concurrent with the discoveries that we unveil, our laboratory also serves as a training ground for the next generation of synthetic chemists that will tackle the biomedical challenges that will face us as a society in the coming decades.”
More information about Joel M. Smith’s work can be found at chem.fsu.edu.
