Join Tim Cernak

Speaking at TEDxChicago 2025: TEDx Global Idea Search

Friday, September 26th @ Harris Theater, Millennium Park

Tim Cernak

CHEMIST AND CONSERVATIONIST

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. Tim has served on advisory boards for the University of Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit, the Open Reaction Database, and Scorpion Therapeutics. He is also a co-founder of Iambic Therapeutics and has been a Research Fellow of the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Learn More

CernakLab.com
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Photo Credit: Call Photography

Friday, September 26th at Harris Theater, Millennium Park

Chicago’s stage for ideas + connection at the convergence of our culture, innovation, and democracy.

Our future feels uncertain, yet we are resoundingly called to what matters most: You and me. Us. Humanity, itself. At TEDxChicago 2025, we believe the most powerful force shaping tomorrow is our collective agency, imagination, desire for connection and laughter, dignity, and generosity. This year, our speakers and artists arrive on Chicago’s stage to share their ideas, showcasing their fierce commitment to unify science, technology, and sustainability with the essential principles of compassion, justice, and care. This is our love letter to Chicago.

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