Mark T. Hamann

Dr. Mark T. Hamann, Ph.D. is a natural products chemist with over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry and research experience in the field of marine natural products chemistry and drug development. He served as lead chemist in pharmaceutical manufacturing before returning to graduate school. Dr. Hamann completed his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1992 at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, in the laboratory of the late Professor Paul J. Scheuer. He was postdoctoral fellow in 1993 at McMurdo Sound Antarctica. Dr. Hamann joined the University of Mississippi in 1993 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacognosy, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999, and then full Professor in 2005. In addition, Dr. Hamann holds joint faculty positions in the Departments of Pharmacology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Pharmacy Practice as well as the National Center for Natural Products Research and also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Marine Biotechnology, University of Mississippi. His research group (15 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the University of Mississippi, Department of Pharmacognosy & Pharmacology, is focused on the characterization of prototype drug-leads from chemically defended marine organisms. Dr. Hamann’s main research support is through an NIH R01 which is directed towards the discovery and development of anti-AIDS agents from marine organisms. Dr. Hamann has served as the primary investigator on more than 10 research projects over the past ten years totaling over $6 million in funded research support in addition to directing the chemistry core of the NIH funded ($11 million) Center for Neuropharmacology. Dr. Hamann’s research programs have also been funded by: The World Health Organization, Medicines for Malaria Venture (Gates Foundation), Monsanto Corporate Research, Chiron Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, PharmaMar (Zeltia), Kraft Foods, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA, the National SeaGrant Programs (NOAA) and a variety of International Visiting Scholar Programs.

Dr. Hamann’s laboratory is involved in the extraction, bioassay guided isolation, structural characterization and lead optimization of bioactive metabolites from marine organisms including invertebrates, alga and microorganisms. A particular interest is the role of microbes in producing many of the bioactive compounds found in marine invertebrates. This aspect of Dr. Hamann’s research program is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Hill at the Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.

Dr. Hamann’s research has resulted in 107 peer-reviewed journal articles, greater than 58 invited lectures, 120 paper presentations, 7 patents with several pending and 4 book chapters. He is an editor for Biochimica and Biophysica Acta and is on the advisory board for the Journal of Traditional Medicine and regularly serves as a reviewer for internationally recognized peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as federal grant agencies including NIH, NSF and NOAA. Dr. Hamann is a member of the American Chemical Society and has served as the Chair of the Northern Mississippi local ACS section. He is also a member of Sigma Xi, The American Society of Pharmacognosy, The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and The American Association for the Advancement of Science.