What can you do when endangered species get sick? Sea turtles with cancer, tropical frogs battling a fungal pandemic – endangered species all around us are fighting diseases. But in the golden era of medicine we currently live in, can we find medicine for the iconic species of our biosphere? Tim Cernak, is launching a new field of conservation chemistry, bringing his expertise in pharmaceutical research to the frontlines of biodiversity loss.

Tim Cernak is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Michigan, with appointments in Chemistry, Chemical Biology, the Center for Global Health Equity, the Rogel Cancer Center, the Michigan Institute for Data Science, and the Michigan Center for Infectious Disease Threats. His research spans chemical synthesis, ecology, data science, automation, sustainability, and drug discovery, with applications ranging from oncology and neurology to agriculture and conservation.

Before joining Michigan in 2018, Tim spent nearly a decade at Merck Research Laboratories, advancing C–H functionalization, reaction miniaturization, and drug design for major diseases. He studied at UBC Okanagan, completed his PhD at McGill University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. He is also a co-founder of Iambic Therapeutics and has been a Research Fellow of the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.