Snapshot: Andrii Monastyrskyi

Position: Research associate, The Scripps Research Institute’s (TSRI) Florida campus.

Area of Research: Monastyrskyi and his colleagues in the Roush lab work in the areas of medicinal chemistry, reaction development and natural products synthesis.

Responsibilities: Monastyrskyi focuses on the development of highly selective brain penetrant inhibitors of CK1δ and CK1ε for treatment of primary and metastatic brain cancers. In one approach, he utilizes computational simulations of small molecule-protein interactions to design potent, selective small molecules with drug-like properties, which are then synthesized and analyzed using a variety of assays.

Background: A native of Ternopil, Ukraine, Monastyrskyi earned a BS in chemistry at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine) and MS and PhD degrees from the University of South Florida. His career interest lies in drug discovery research.

Arrived at TSRI: August 2014

Awards/Accomplishments: Since joining TSRI, Monastyrskyi has received a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Fellowship.

Thoughts on TSRI: Monastyrskyi especially appreciates TSRI’s interdisciplinary training environment. “As a scholar extremely interested in the enabling power of chemistry to craft tailored therapies for the betterment of human health, I find the interaction with chemists, biochemists and cancer biologists extremely invigorating,” he says.

Professional and Volunteer Groups: A seven-year member of the American Chemical Society, Monastyrskyi is the current president of the Scripps Florida Society of Research Fellows (SRF) He and the SRF executive committee plan to help Scripps Florida postdoctoral associates discover fulfilling post-PhD career trajectories. Additionally, the SRF seeks to aid research associates in developing the skills necessary to achieve success.

Other Extracurricular Activities: Monastyrskyi and his wife, Kateryna, enjoy water-related leisure-time activities. In particular, Andrii has been honing his sailing skills with the goal of sailing to the Caribbean.

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