The Zimmerman Group tour

We focus on the application of “smart molecules” and “smart polymers” to problems that lie at the interface of chemistry and biology or chemistry and materials. Our efforts generally involve the design, synthesis, and study of novel small molecules and polymers and work in the subfields of biomedicine, chemical biology, or materials chemistry. 
More specifically, our research in molecular design is to develop compounds that can:

• Serve as DNA or RNA-targeted therapeutic agents
• Function as stable and biocompatible imaging agents
• Act as encapsulants to carry active agents and deliver them in a stimuli-responsive manner, and
• Deliver drugs or cells specifically to diseased tissue

Students in our group can learn a range of skills from organic synthesis and chemical biology to computer modeling and advanced materials development and characterization.