Dr. Cynthia Selassie is a distinguished scholar whose career has significantly advanced the field of medicinal chemistry through rigorous scientific inquiry and academic leadership. She currently holds the esteemed position of Emerita Professor of Science and Professor of Chemistry at Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she previously served as the Blanche and Frank R. Seaver Professor of Science beginning in 2014. An accomplished academic with deep roots in chemical sciences, Dr. Selassie earned her Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary's College, followed by a Master of Arts from Duke University, and ultimately her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Southern California. Her educational foundation propelled her into a distinguished career spanning three decades at one of America's premier liberal arts institutions, where she established herself as a respected educator, researcher, and mentor in the chemical sciences.
Dr. Selassie's pioneering research has centered on Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship modeling, a sophisticated computational approach that predicts biological activity based on chemical structure. Her work has made significant contributions to pharmaceutical science by developing methodologies that enhance drug discovery processes and improve molecular design strategies. With a robust publication record of 69 scholarly works and an impressive predicted citation count of 2,319, her research has achieved substantial impact as evidenced by her predicted h-index of 26. Dr. Selassie's expertise in bridging computational chemistry with practical pharmaceutical applications has established her as an authority in the field, with her methodologies informing contemporary approaches to medicinal chemistry and drug development.
Beyond her own research contributions, Dr. Selassie has profoundly influenced the broader scientific community through extensive service on national advisory bodies including fifteen years as a member of Special Study Sections for the National Institutes of Health from 1996 to 2015. Her expertise was further recognized through appointment to the Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 2003 to 2006. Throughout her career, she secured significant research funding from major agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, supporting her innovative work in chemical and pharmaceutical sciences. As an Emerita Professor, Dr. Selassie continues to inspire future generations of scientists through her scholarly legacy, while her methodological approaches remain integral to contemporary medicinal chemistry research and education.
