Faculty Profile
Stephen Cutler (Faculty Member is Retired, or has otherwise left the University)
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
Phone Number: (662)915-7101
Email: cutler@olemiss.edu
http://olemiss.edu/cobre/cutler/index.html
Key Words: fungi, isolation, biological evaluation, and chemical elucidation of secondary metabolites from nature
Research Description: My interests are focused on the isolation, biological evaluation, and chemical elucidation of secondary metabolites from nature. This work includes the accession of fungi and plant that have unique properties. In addition, my work includes the design and synthesis of derivatives of the metabolites as ligands to serve as probes to investigate pharmacologic receptors. One of the main objectives of my research is to develop new approaches and concepts to designing highly selective ligands. Most of my recent research has involved with the isolation and structural elucidation of biologically active natural products that are selective for different cannabinoid and opioid receptor types. These studies have utilized both cloned receptors and animal studies as an aid to obtain insight into the recognition of ligands by these CNS and peripheral receptors.
Honors Theses:
Fitzpatrick, Ashli (2015) Secondary Metabolites Isolated from Perovskia Atriplicifolia and their in vitro Binding Affinity for Human Opioid and Cannabinoid Receptors. (full text)
Fitzpatrick, John (2015) Exploration of Cannabinoid and Opioid Agents from Plants Used in Traditional Medicine. (full text)
Available Research Projects:
Evaluation of Non-Cannabis Plants for their Abuse Potential
Project Description: Psychoactive plants contain constituents that can alter mood, consciousness, and behavior. These plants grow in almost every environment around the world including the USA. For millennia, people have used plants and herbs for a variety of medical conditions, but also in recreational, spiritualistic and ritual settings. This use is often without detailed knowledge of the chemistry and/or biology effects of the plant, which can be extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal. Americans consume a variety of plant-derived psychoactive products, including “marijuana substitutes”. Although the use of some of these lesser known psychoactive plants is on the rise, a systematic study of these plants has not been studied. This project will allow a systematic study, which should be highly valuable in gaining a better understanding the chemistry and pharmacology of these plants and lead to the identification of novel biologically active compounds.
Desired Student Qualifications: A background in chemistry and/or biology.
Project Timeline: 1 year and 2 year projects are available.
Duties of Student Researcher: The student enrolled in this program will be involved with one of two areas of research: 1) performing the extraction and fractionation of plants with potential psychotropic effects and 2) perform cell-based assays to evaluate the biological effects of plant extracts on opioid and/or cannabinoid receptors.
Last Updated on 2015-09-29 15:16:32