Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Professor Portoghese received his Ph.D (1961) in medicinal chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He then joined the faculty of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota where he presently is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.
Over the years Professor Portoghese has maintained an active research program and has trained approximately 100 graduate students and postdoctorals. He has published over 350 scientific papers and he is listed in the ISI database of Highly Cited Researchers. He has received numerous awards from national and international scientific societies, the most recent being the Nauta Award (2006) given by the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry. The American Chemical Society’s awards include the prestigious Alfred Burger Award (2000), the Medicinal Chemistry Award (1990), and the Smissman Bristol-Myers Squibb Award (1991). Other awards include the Ernest H. Volwiler Award (1984), which is the highest research recognition presented by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; and two Research Achievement Awards in Medicinal Chemistry given by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (1990) and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Scientists of the American Pharmaceutical Association (1980). The fact that he is recipient of the Eddy Award (1991, College on Problems of Drug Dependence) and Founders Award (2000, International Narcotics Research Conference) whose members are primarily biologists, illustrates that his scientific contributions are also recognized outside the discipline of medicinal chemistry. His achievements have been recognized by the University of Minnesota, and include his induction into the Academy of Excellence in Health Research (2003); Citation of Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service (2000); and the Weaver Medal (2001). He is recipient of a Citation (1996) from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and he has been recognized abroad with honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Catania (1986) and the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy (1992). The importance of his research has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health with a MERIT Award (1997).
His broadest impact on medicinal chemistry has been as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (JMC). Over the past 35 years he has shaped the Journal into the world’s most prestigious and most highly cited (impact factor, 5.1) medicinal chemistry journal. The Journal presently has nine editors in the U.S. and Europe. Altogether, the Journal accounts for more than 25% of all citations in the field.