{"id":4662,"date":"2024-09-25T20:53:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T18:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.molport.com\/?p=4662"},"modified":"2024-09-25T20:55:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T18:55:37","slug":"getting-to-know-molports-new-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.molport.com\/news\/getting-to-know-molports-new-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know Molport\u2019s new CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are very pleased to introduce you to our new CEO, Diana Zelencova-Gopejenko, Ph.D.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, we find out a little bit more about Diana, including her medicinal chemistry expertise and how she plans to use her first-hand experience of the whole drug development cycle to both expand Molport\u2019s current offering and introduce new, tailored MedChem tools to make sourcing diverse chemical compounds from around the world easier and faster.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By enhancing access to chemical compounds and relieving the pressures on researchers with tools that she would have found invaluable as a researcher, Diana aims to ensure that Molport will be a key contributor to the acceleration of global drug discovery and development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Please tell us about your background in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

My background is in fact very similar to many of Molport\u2019s customers. I initially studied chemistry and went on to work at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis for 13 years. My PhD involved protein ligand binding studies and medicinal chemistry. Over the years, I\u2019ve contributed to 15 scientific projects focused on drug design for treatment of various diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, malaria, and Covid-19. These projects have resulted in a number of scientific papers in Q1 journals* as well as patents.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During my scientific career, I\u2019ve worked across the whole early-stage drug development cycle, starting from computer aided drug design and continuing with experimental screening of both fragment libraries and drug-like compounds. Later, these results were used for hit-to-lead optimization, turning promising compounds into viable drug candidates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I intend to leverage my experience and deep understanding of the entire drug development cycle to help Molport strengthen its support for our customers, making their research more efficient and shortening the path to clinical trials. Having worked in a smaller organization without huge internal resources and computational power, and also in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, I can really appreciate the needs of Molport\u2019s customers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, one of my aims is to enhance Molport\u2019s role in the drug discovery process by expanding our quick and simple supply model for standard building block compounds and developing our offering of innovative solutions tailored to our customers’ needs. Everything can be possible for them, regardless of the size of their organization!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Why did you want to join Molport? <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m excited to join Molport as it holds a unique position in the drug discovery world, and to myself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before joining Molport, I had the opportunity to experience its service excellence first-hand as a customer. What makes Molport truly special is its cutting-edge platform, bringing together chemical suppliers from around the world into one place at no extra cost – offering researchers access to an exceptionally diverse chemical space with a simple click.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was particularly impressed by how user-friendly the platform is, allowing me to prepare tailored screening libraries and utilize cherry-picking options that perfectly fulfilled my research needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Molport\u2019s innovative global marketplace and fantastic customer support really empowers researchers by offering fully customizable libraries of guaranteed quality. This is a real game-changer for those working in highly demanding fields such as drug discovery.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ease and efficiency of working with Molport left a lasting impression on me. So, when invited to interview for the CEO position, I felt honored and excited about the potential to contribute to the company\u2019s ongoing success. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to now lead Molport and continue enhancing the company’s role in advancing global research efforts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a03. <\/span>What is your vision for the future of Molport?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Over the past 17 years, Molport has been very successful in its aim to turn a complex, fragmented R&D chemical market into an easy-to-access, data-driven marketplace. I believe that the company has a strong foundation and great future prospects \u2013 to make things even bigger and better to efficiently serve customers all around the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My vision for Molport is to expand its role as a central player in the global drug discovery field by offering even more innovative and tailored solutions that help researchers accelerate their work. To better serve our customers, I see Molport continuing to simplify the process of sourcing chemical compounds, but also with a focus on customization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We will enhance our platform to offer researchers even more <\/span>customizable data sets<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>pre-filtered compound libraries<\/span><\/b>, and <\/span>MedChem tools<\/span><\/b>. By doing this, we can provide comprehensive solutions that are highly specific to the unique needs of each research project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We aim to relieve the pressure on researchers that have been dependent on their in-house capabilities. For example, Molport is actively working towards offering computational chemistry support in the near future. This will be a valuable resource for researchers who, like me in the past, relied heavily on in-house capabilities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, we\u2019ll improve our <\/span>fast-delivery services for building blocks<\/span><\/b> to ensure our customers can access critical materials quickly and efficiently to avoid delays in their research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the biggest difficulties is the <\/span>complexity and fragmentation<\/span><\/b> of the global chemical market, which can slow down the drug discovery process. Molport is already addressing this by centralizing access to thousands of compounds, but I believe we can take this further by integrating more <\/span>AI-driven tools<\/span><\/b> to simplify and automate certain aspects of compound selection.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, my goal is to position Molport as the go-to platform for all chemical sourcing needs, while continuously evolving to anticipate and meet the changing demands of the drug discovery community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You mention AI-driven tools. Can you tell us a little more about your thoughts on these?<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

AI is of course a very hot topic in all aspects of our lives right now. An interesting recent development for the medicinal chemistry space is AlphaFold 3, a new AI model developed by Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs. It claims to have the power to accurately predict the structure and interactions of all of life\u2019s molecules.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Integrating AI tools like AlphaFold 3 could help in predicting which small molecules make better drug candidates, and if they work, why not implement them? However, as with all AI, I think we need to be aware of its potential pros and cons, and investigate and trial it rigorously whilst remaining very cautious. It\u2019s still very early days for AI, but it\u2019s definitely on our radar!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. What drew you into medicinal chemistry?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

I think what first drew me to organic chemistry was my curiosity as to what and how things work! The concept of one molecule transitioning to other molecules and their synthesis fascinated me. Our bodies are always synthesizing or degrading something – that\u2019s what seeded my interest in how drugs work. So, my work within the biochemistry group at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis was hugely stimulating for me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also always been motivated by the idea of making our world better, particularly by improving people\u2019s well-being. This made medicinal chemistry an obvious path for me to pursue, as the development of new drug candidates can potentially lead to novel life-saving treatments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m also deeply motivated by working with a talented team who are all passionate about their work. By combining our skills and knowledge, we can achieve shared goals and really push the boundaries in research for solutions for drug discovery.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>5. What do you think are 3 key ingredients for success?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

My 3 key ingredients for success are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n