We love it when alums decide to make Richmond a home for their career, too. And it’s even better when those Spider professors are paving the way for new research in their fields. Take Miles Johnson, ’09, a chemistry professor who just received a $100,000 award from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust for his research project.

Johnson’s work with chemical compounds and a method called cross-coupling will contribute to the pharmaceutical industry. His research will use synthetic chemistry and computer modeling to propose potential solutions for challenging compounds within drug design.

“Cross-coupling reactions have played a pivotal role in the synthesis of new pharmaceuticals for decades and represent some of the most powerful tools at the disposal of medicinal chemists,” Johnson said.

Congratulations on receiving such an impressive grant, Dr. Johnson! We’re proud to have you back on campus.