The Ronald F. Borne Outstanding Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Award

Dr. Ronald F. Borne, professor emeritus of medicinal chemistry at the University of Mississippi, School of Pharmacy, retired on June 30, 2006 after 38 years of service to the University. A native of New Orleans, LA, he earned the B.S. degree in chemistry from Loyola University of the South, the M.S. degree in organic chemistry from Tulane University, and the Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Kansas (under the tutelage of Professor Matt Mertes). Early in his career, he was employed as chemist at the Ochsner Research Medical Foundation and as a research chemist at the C. J. Patterson Co. in Kansas City, KS. After earning his doctorate degree he joined Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in St. Louis, MO as a research chemist.

In 1968 he joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi as an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and began a career of teaching, research and administration. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1970 and to full professor in 1973. He received the Outstanding Teaching Award for the University in 1972 and the School of Pharmacy Outstanding Teacher Award on six occasions (1982, 1983, 1989, 1993, 1997 and 1988). He was named the State of Mississippi Professor of the Year in 1992 by the National Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. In 1994 Dr. Borne received the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Mississippi and the National Rho Chi

Lecture Award. In 1996 he received the Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Dr. Borne’s research career and interests primarily involved efforts to elucidate the importance of conformational factors in the actions of agents affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems. In particular: analgetics, anti-arthritics, dopaminergics, cholinergics and adrenergics received considerable attention. Other recent interests included synthesis of novel pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of dependence on cocaine and other substances of abuse as well as the synthesis of new antimalarial agents. In 1988-89 he was awarded an N.I.H. Senior International Fellowship to conduct research in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh Medical School in Edinburgh, Scotland. His research involved the synthesis of radioligands selective for serotonin 5-HTlA receptors as diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease, and the synthesis of analogues of the excitatory amino acids, glutamate and aspartate, to study the etiology of senile dementia disorders. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of his research program, Dr. Borne established collaborative relationships with other researchers and has published with a faculty or staff member in every other department or division in the School of Pharmacy (pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutics, pharmacy administration, clinical pharmacy, RIPS, NCNPR, continuing education), including the Pharmacy Library. He has received federal research funding from NIH, NSF, the Department of Education, NASA, the Department of Commerce, CDC and the Department of Defense as well as several industrial research companies. Dr. Borne has published approximately 100 research, drug abuse education and professional publications and book chapters covering a span of six decades and was granted four U.S. patents.

Dr. Borne held several administrative positions in the School of Pharmacy and the University. He served as Chairman of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry (1979-88), Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School (1985-86), and as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research (1998-2001). In the latter position he was responsible for coordinating all research activities on campus with numerous state and national agencies and coordinated all university-related research activities with the Mississippi Congressional delegations. During this period, extramural funding (external grants and contracts) on the Oxford campus increased from $18.6 million in FY96-97 to $73.6 million in FY00-01. He also established the Laboratory for Applied Drug Design and Synthesis (LADDS) in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. When he returned to full time teaching and research in 2001 the University established an endowment to establish the Ronald F. Borne Endowed Chair of Medicinal Chemistry. Dr. Borne was also heavily committed to community service through his appointment as Chairman of the City of Oxford Park Commission Board. During this period (1978-1980) the city experienced its greatest growth in park and recreational facilities as exemplified by the construction of a $275,000 Community Activity Center and a $300,000 public swimming pool, the city's first community pool. He was subsequently appointed to serve on the School Board for the City of Oxford Public School System (being the first member of the University Community to be appointed to that Board) and served as member and as Vice-Chair from 1980-1983. He is a medicinal chemist by education and a writer by avocation. He has written poetry, a play, and has several non-scientific articles and short stories published in the Ole Miss Review, Mississippi Magazine, and the Ole Miss Spirit. He has also written or edited several books including The Great College Coaches Cookbook, (Stanley-Clark Publishing Co., 1988) and Beginnings and Ends, (Nautilus Publishing Co., 2012). His biography of Mississippian Hugh Clegg, TROUTMOUTH: The two careers of Hugh Clegg, was published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2015. Dr. Borne passed away unexpectedly on October 18, 2016, while working on a history book, 1936 – A Pivotal Year in American and World History: The Confluence of Sports and Politics. His insight and contributions to MALTO will be sorely missed.

Past Recipients of The Ronald F. Borne Outstanding Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Award

2015: Pallavi Rajaputra, “Far Red Light-Activatable Prodrugs of a Photosensitizer and Anti-Cancer Drug for Effective Tumor Ablation Using Photodynamic Therapy”, University of Oklahoma, Advisor: Youngjae You.

2016: Staya Prakash Shukla, “Homo- and Hetero-Multimerizations of Peptoids to Target Cancer,” University of Houston, Advisor: Gomika Udugamasooriya.

2017: Moses Bio, “Targeted Far-Red Light Activatable Prodrugs: Folate Receptor-Targeting, Optical Imaging, and a Combination of Photodynamic Therapy and Site-Specific Chemotherapy”, University of Oklahoma, Advisor: Youngjae You.

2018: Pankaj Pandey, “ Identification of Potent Natural Product Chemotypes as Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Inverse Agonists Using Protein Structure-Based Virtual Screening”, University of Mississippi, Advisor, Robert J. Doerkse.

2019: Sampad Jana, “Use of α-Fluoronitroalkenes as a Synthetic Equivalent for FluoroAlkynes in Cycloaddition Reaction with Organic Azides”, University of Mississippi, Advisor, Sudeshna Roy.

2022: Vijay Boda, “Discovery of Selective TRPC3 Antagonists for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease”, Advisor, Wei Li.

2023:Ishaq Khan, “Implications for Clinical Translation: Discovery of Novel VEGFR2 Inhibitor to Potentiate Sorafenib’s Antiangiogenic Effects on Hepatocellular Carcinoma”, Texas A&M University, Advisor: Hamed I. Ali.

2024: Vijay Boda, “Small Molecules Conjugates with Selective estrogen Receptor bAgonism Promote Anti-Aging Benefits in metabolism and skin Recovery”, University of Tennessee, Advisor, Wei Li.